DigiTales
by Cyborg Space Dragon
Summary: An episodic recreation of 01. In the barren land of File, the children find an unusual forest to take refuge in. But then Jou runs afoul of a nature cult and their mad leader, the Warden of Life.
1. Taichi's Mistake

Foreword: DigiTales was originally going to be taking parts of 01 and expanding on them, but then it went in a very, very different direction. And because of that, this will more a collection of stories rather than one long one.

I've rated this one M, but I think it'll be more of a T with M moments popping up from time to time.

As things are now, Takari is the only pairing I can promise. As for Taichi/Sora/Yamato, I have no idea where that'll end up since I don't have any real preference.

* * *

Seven year old Yagami Taichi let out a depressed sigh. It was a perfect day outside. No clouds, nice and windy, the perfect day to really push himself in the greatest game of all time: Soccer. Looking out the window, he could see other kids enjoying that sacred sport in the park across the street. One lousy street. That was all that was between him and that glorious pastime.

A small cough reminded him why he was forbidden from crossing said street. Or even going outside for that matter, instead having to settle for a television that couldn't even be bothered to play one lousy soccer game. He peeked over the couch and glared at the four year old warden holding him here. There she was, his little sister Hikari, with short brown hair and big brown eyes that made every adult ever gush over how "cute" she was. She was wearing a white shirt and pink dress completing her "perfect little angel" image that made their parents do whatever she wanted. In this case, she wanted Taichi to be stuck inside while their parents went out for… uh… something. What difference did it make? He was still stuck here because the little brat was pretending to be sick. Again.

"Onii-san?" her small voice piped up as she sat on the floor with a coloring book, "What color should I make the kitty?" How like her, acting as if she had no idea what she'd done to him.

"Who cares?!" he snapped, letting his frustration burst out. Hikari's popped open and she fell back slightly. She started to shake and Taichi immediately regretted his outburst as tears filled her eyes.

"I-I'm sorry," her voice cracked, "I-I'll g-go where I w-won't b-b-bother you." He inwardly groaned as her trembling hands began to gather her crayons. _Great. I made her cry. Again. Mom and Dad are gonna find out. Again. And I'm gonna get in trouble! Again!_ It was always the same! Hikari gets upset over something. His parents ask her, but instead of just telling, she puts on her good girl act and says it's nothing. That way when they do find out, he ends up the bad guy. Every. Single. Time.

He had to do something. He slid off the couch and rushed over, kneeling in front of her. "Please don't cry, I'm sorry." She looked at him, lightly sobbing. _Great. Now I'm really in trouble._ He had to think fast and cheer her up now! But how? He hated all those girly things she liked. Why couldn't she like the things he liked? Like soccer? _Wait a minute!_ He had an idea. _Hikari never tries anything. I'll bet if I got her playing soccer, then she'd like it! _"I got a fun idea," he said, her expression immediately brightening, "I could teach you to play soccer."

"R-Really?!" She sounded so happy, much more than he expected. "B-But we can't play in the house and Mommy and Daddy said-"

"They're gonna be gone for a while," he waved her protests away, "We just have to be back before they are." He let a slight edge slip into his voice. "And we won't tell them, right?" Wide-eyed, Hikari shook her head.

"I-I won't! I promise!" He studied her very carefully. She could be lying. She started to shake. "I promise Onii-san," she squeaked, "I won't say anything to Mommy and Daddy. I promise." Well, she seemed sincere. For once.

"Okay, then. Let's go."

* * *

Taichi took a deep breath while walking Hikari along the park's fence and his trusty soccer ball in his other hand. The sun was recharging his solar batteries perfectly and the air had that fun smell cars left in it. Perfect soccer weather. Hikari seemed to be enjoying herself too, humming as she skipped along with him. He looked over at the kids playing. _Call that soccer? Wait till I'm out there!_ Wait, there was one player who wasn't playing too badly. "Sora!" he called out. The player, Takenouchi Sora, who had short red hair and was wearing a yellow t-shirt and blue shorts came running up. She was his best friend for as long as he could remember and the number two soccer player in the world (he was number one of course).

"Taichi? Didn't think you were coming," she said, sounding surprised.

"Oh, come on," he said, stretching his arms out, "Me miss a chance to beat you again?" Sora raised an eyebrow.

"Again? You're pretty proud of that lucky shot."

"Well I'm feeling real lucky today." A small cough interrupted whatever Sora was about to say. She gave Hikari a big smile and Taichi suppressed a sigh. Best friend or not, Sora was also completely fooled his Hikari's innocent act.

"You're here too, Hika?!"

"H-Hi Sora-san," the smaller girl weakly said. Was she tired? No, probably just nervous. Not that she had any reason to be; she'd known Sora her entire life. In fact, when she was born, Sora was at the hospital with Taichi and held her right after he did. But then again, Hikari got nervous about a lot of things.

"Oh, come on, Hika," Sora pointed at him, "If he can just call me 'Sora', so can you." He gave her a mock glare.

"Hey! You sound like you like her more than me!" She looked at him with a perfectly blank expression.

"Who doesn't?" Before he could think of a comeback, he felt Hikari's arms wrap around him.

"You're my favorite, Onii-san," she said. His face started getting warm. Was she trying to embarrass him?

"Uh, o-okay, uh, Sora! Got room for another player?" Hikari suddenly let go and stepped back, disappointment flashing across her face before her smile returned. _Oh, darn it! I'm supposed to be teaching her!_ He thought for a second. _No, it'll still be a while before Mom and Dad come home. I can do both._

"And what will Hika do?" Sora asked. Aw, darn it. She always took Hikari's side. Always. It was the main cause, or rather, only cause of their fights.

"I-I'll be okay!" she answered with a cough. He scanned the playground just past the playing field. A bunch of little kids were there and he could easily keep an eye on her while playing. There were other adults too, so she'd be okay.

"You see the playground over there?" he asked. She nodded, looking disappointed again. "Stay there so I can see you. And I promise I'll teach you when the game's done." Hikari's face brightened again.

"Okay, Onii-san!"

* * *

Leaning his back against the fence, Taichi panted heavily. That was one intense game. This time he had to admit it really was a lucky shot that got past Sora like that. He was going to be tired and sore, but the good kind of tired and sore. He looked at his watch. Still a bit before his parents would be back home. The perfect crime.

He started towards the playground where Hikari was playing in the sandbox with some blonde haired boy with a green t-shirt and brown shorts. That was a weird hair color. Hikari looked up at him. She said something to the boy, probably goodbye, and started running and stumbling towards him. "Taichi!" She gave him another hug. And another cough. "Are you gonna teach me now?" _Oh, darn it! That's right!_ He promised her, too! He checked his watch. Enough time to at least teach her something simple. _I can still pull this off._

"Sure thing, but we'll start with something real simple. But it'll be important. Every player has to know this." Hikari pulled away and stood at attention. She was sweating pretty hard too. Must have been out in the sun too long.

"I-I won't l-let y-you down," she said.

"Don't worry, this'll be easy," he assured, setting the soccer ball down, "You just need to run up and kick it. Your first few kicks will be pretty bad, but you'll get the hang of it."

Unfortunately, "first few kicks" turned out to be a few more than he expected. It was almost impressive, really, Hikari's inability to run a straight line. Or rather, stumble. And her kicks were awful, just grazing the ball, barely nudging it. It wasn't even hard; all she had to do was run up to the ball and kick it. That was it. He'd learned it in no time, why couldn't she?! It couldn't be because she was a girl because Sora learned it just as fast! Maybe the older girl would have better luck teaching her, but, no, she'd had already gone back home. "Hikari!" he was finding it harder and harder to keep the irritation out of his voice as he went over to retrieve the ball, "I keep telling you! Focus on the ball! It's easy!"

Huh, no answer this time. Usually it was the coughed out apology that he was getting more than a little sick of hearing. Well, fine. Maybe if she stopped apologizing, she could start thinking about her lousy playing. He turned around and… she was lying face down on the ground! Even as his brain registered the sight, he dropped the ball and raced over to her. "Hikari!" _She was fine a second ago, wasn't she?!_ As he knelt down and rolled her on to her back, his mind raced through the day. All the times she coughed. The stumbling. How weak she sounded when she talked to Sora. _She wasn't pretending! She is sick! _Guilt exploded throughout his insides while tears began rolling down his cheeks. "Hikari! I'm so sorry! Please wake up!" No answer, just a lot of heavy breathing. She was sweating pretty badly too and it looked like she was in pain. "Hikari! Hikari!" He looked up and noticed the crowd he was attracted. "Help! She's sick! Please, help!" One woman, with the blonde kid next to her, was already on her phone.

* * *

It had been a few days since Hikari was taken to the hospital. At least, Taichi thought it was a few days, it felt more like years. He laid back on the couch and tried to focus on the TV. How was his team doing again? Oh, who cares? They were running and kicking a ball for some stupid reason. A reason that nearly got his sister killed. He could still feel the slap his mother gave him and found himself thinking it wasn't hard enough. And Sora had a few things to say to him. Very loud things and he deserved it all and more. Each second slowly crawled by as he waited for his parents' return. They were able bring Hikari home today and then they were going to decide how long his grounding would last. Not that he really cared; not after the way he treated her.

All those times he upset her, made her cry, but she never blamed him. In fact, she'd try to claim it was something else, but of course, being a terrible liar, Taichi would get caught anyhow. But it wasn't like she ever meant for it, and she always apologized to him even though it was his fault. _I was always so mean to her. I blamed her for all the stupid things I kept doing._ She looked so happy when he used her as an excuse to play soccer. She didn't even complain when he tried to back out! _She loves you so much you idiot!_ He recalled Sora shouting at him, her eyes filled with tears. _She didn't care about soccer! She just wanted to play with you for once!_

He'd made a decision. There was no way Hikari loved him now. Lying in that hospital bed, thinking of all the horrible ways he treated her, and the fact he was too much of a coward to visit her saw to that. She hated him now. She had to. But that was okay because he was going to be the greatest big brother in the world to her now, even if she never forgave him. Not like he was going to forgive himself.

"We're home!" his mother announced as the door opened. Taichi jumped off the couch and rushed over. Hikari was in their mother's arms, wrapped up in a blanket. Was she really okay? He was afraid to ask. "She's still not feeling well, so she's going right to bed." No, not yet. He had to say something. Anything.

"Hikari," he started, but he had no idea what else. "Sorry" wasn't nearly enough.

"Onii-san?" she spoke up.

"I-I'm here!" he said, bracing himself. Whatever it was she had to say, he knew he deserved it.

"I'm sorry I couldn't kick the ball right. I'll understand if you don't want to play with me anymore."

* * *

_Not again!_ Once again, Ishida Natsuko's son, Takeru, had wandered off. _Knew I should've left him at home._ Ever since that unfortunate incident with that Yagami girl, Takeru insisted on coming along every time she went shopping. And then he'd wander off. What was going on with him? _Maybe I should talk that girl's mother, __um, Yuuko-__san __again__. __I __think Ta__keru's acting more like her son than Yamato. Maybe she'll have some ideas on how to handle him._

"Mommy?" She almost jumped at his voice from behind. She turned around and gave him a stern look.

"Takeru! Where have…" her voice trailed off as saw the big bottle of pills he was holding. Just what was he doing with those?

"If Hika-chan gets sick again, will these help her?"

* * *

Afterword: Honestly, I first only wrote this because of the ending, but now I need Takeru and Hikari to have history together. Digital World stuff will begin on the next part.


	2. First Day 01

Foreword: I was hoping to get this up a few days earlier but I wasn't happy with how the next arc was starting. I'm trying to make sure I'm always at least a full story arc ahead.

I was first under the idea that this would mostly be a collection of oneshots. First day has six parts. I don't oneshot very well.

I've seen several versions on Takeru's and Hikari's ages and I think I like her being about half a year older than him. So he's not quite eight yet.

* * *

Taichi let out a disappointed sigh. He went through all the trouble of bringing a soccer ball to summer camp and the closest to a clearing was around a fire pit surrounded by a few logs carved into benches. It wasn't like he wanted a soccer field or anything, just a spot he could practice a few kicks. _And why isn't it warmer?_ he wondered, shivering slightly. No clouds in the sky, though it did seem a darker blue than normal. _Probably just __looks that way with all these trees around__._ Now that he noticed, this forest was pretty thick. In fact, the whole campsite, which from what he could tell was just the fire pit and two stone staircases on opposite sides leading to the boys' and girls' cabins, seemed like it was just shoved into the forest.

Well, at least it wasn't a total loss being here. Sora was sitting on one of the benches. She wore a yellow, sleeveless shirt, blue jeans and a blue bike helmet, saying she needed it whenever he was around (honestly, it wasn't _that_ big a bruise). And next to her was Taichi's little buddy, Takaishi Takeru, or TK as he preferred to be called (actually, Hikari preferred it. He just went along). Not that Taichi would call him "little buddy" out loud; as the star of his school's soccer club, and Hikari's older brother, he was more than a little experienced when it came to little kids and knew how much they hated being called "little". TK wore a strange green hat over his blond hair with some kind of blue stone or something in front of it. His eyes were a bright blue and he wore a green vest over a lighter green t-shirt and brown shorts.

And of course Sora would be with him, she was Hikari's surrogate big sister after all. And for some reason the club's boys came to her more often than Taichi, though why he couldn't imagine. Heck, he won nine of the last sixteen games he played against her, but for some reason she was more popular. Maybe TK would know, but he wasn't about to embarrass himself asking. _That reminds me. Guess I need to tell him Hikari couldn't make it._ His sister, true to form, got sick recently. She seemed better today, but it was best to be careful. Her disappointed face flashed through his mind bringing with it a wave of sympathy for the two. TK didn't live nearby and he was going to be as crushed as she was.

He started towards Sora and TK when someone else joined in, sitting on TK's other side and completely soured Taichi's mood. Ishida Yamato, TK's older brother, separated by an ugly divorce. His hair and eyes were the same as TK's, though a bit darker. He wore a dark green sleeveless shirt and blue jeans. Despite being brothers, the two couldn't be more different. TK was kind, thoughtful, cheery, and exactly the kind of friend Hikari needed. Jerk-ass Ishida was everything else- _Why are he and Sora being so friendly with each other?!_

She barely knew him before today! How can they be talking and laughing like that?! In fact, since when did Ishida even know how to laugh?! "Umm, excuse, um, Taichi-san, is it?" a nervous voice snapped him out of his irritation. _San? Since when am I a san? _The voice came from a tall, lanky boy with dark hair and he wore large glasses over his dark eyes. He had a white button up shirt, a cream vest, and gray shorts. He also had large medical bag slung over his shoulder. Taichi thought back to the bus. It did roll call and there was only seven, including himself, so this guy's name shouldn't be hard to remember… Oh, that's right. Kido Jou. And there was another, much shorter boy next to him. A redheaded boy wearing an orange button up shirt and green shorts with a closed laptop in his arms. His name was Izumi Koushiro and, thankfully, he seemed much more relaxed.

"Yeah, that's me," Taichi answered as gently as he could. He really didn't like it when others were nervous around him, "You need something?"

"We're wondering if you've seen any of the camp councilors," Koushiro answered in Jou's place, "Jou-san and I haven't seen any since..." he looked a little surprised, "How odd. I don't recall his name." Taichi thought back. He didn't remember either. The councilor was a big cheerful guy who went off to set up some sort of "grand adventure" or something. At least Taichi thought he was big. His memory of the guy was a bit on the hazy side.

"Strange, I don't really remember either," he admitted, "and now that you mention it, I haven't seen any of the other councilors." A realization struck him. "I was looking for a good spot to kick my soccer ball and I never saw any other cabins." Jou looked crestfallen.

"You mean he abandoned us?!"

"Calm down, Jou-san", Koushiro said, "We shouldn't jump to conclusions."

"That's right," Taichi agreed, "He might have just been eaten by a bear." The expression of horror on Jou's face almost made him burst out laughing. Yes, it was mean, but it was worth it.

"That wasn't very helpful, Taichi-san," Koushiro chided, "but I'm more concerned as to why he was the only councilor."

"A very hungry bear?" Taichi suggested with a smile.

"That's not funny!" Jou exploded, "Do you not realize the danger we're in?! We're unaccompanied minors! What'll we do if-"

"I see your point," Taichi interrupted, trying not to roll his eyes, "Look, let's just stay together for now." He pointed his thumb back at Sora, TK, and the other guy. "We stay together, we'll be fine."

"I concur," Koushiro said, "I'll use my laptop to see if I can't find out anything going on with the camp and Email my parents to let them know of the complication." He looked up at the sky. "I will also begin researching this unusual atmospheric phenomenon." Taichi nodded, only understanding about half of that last sentence. Not that he would ask Koushiro to explain; he'd talked to enough smart kids to know the explanation would just be a lot of big words and a bigger headache.

He started down the hill to where Sora and TK were when a streak of cold sliced through his arm. He jumped back and glared at the source. Nothing. There was a tree branch above but nothing else. "What happened?!" Jou blurted out, "Were you stung?! Bitten?!"

"I'm okay!" Taichi answered, and waited for the other boy to calm down before continuing, "Just thought I felt something cold." Jou blinked, looking confused.

"But there's nothing there."

Koushiro moved towards the shadow and stuck a hand in, pulling it back almost immediately. "It is cold," he said, his voice filled with surprise, "and I don't mean how shaded areas are usually cooler than lit areas." Shaded? Taichi stared at the shadow the branch was casting. It looked just like a normal shadow. No mini blizzard or portal to the north pole or whatever a shadow would need to be so cold. Though, now that he looked at it…

"It seems a bit darker than the other shadows," he observed, "Or deeper?" Koushiro looked around.

"A good observation. Your idea of us all staying together may have more merit than I first thought."

"We can get everyone to the cabin," Jou said, "In fact, I should go over there now and just make sure it's set up for everyone." Taichi nodded, tempted to point out the obvious escape plan. But then again, it wasn't like he'd been inside the cabins for more than a couple minutes, so maybe Jou had a good reason. _Eh, I picked on him enough._

"Maybe you should go with him," he told Koushiro, "I'll work on getting everyone else." Koushiro nodded and the two boys headed for the boys' cabin. Taichi turned back to the others, suddenly grateful Hikari wasn't here. And worried that TK was. As he headed over to the fire pit, he made sure watch his surroundings. A couple more shadows that seemed darker. Creepy, but they weren't near him, so he decided not to worry too much about it. He was feeling a little colder than before too, but going near Ishida usually had that effect on him. Still, Ishida was TK's older brother, and Taichi was not going to let his little buddy get caught between them.

Upon reaching the fire pit, he picked out a bench that kept him opposite of Sora, keeping Ishida out of his view. She looked up at him and smiled. "Oh, Taichi! I was looking for you and I ran into TK-kun and Yamato-kun." Oh, that's right. Sora and TK hadn't met. For some reason, Hikari never wanted Sora around whenever TK was visiting and whenever he'd ask his sister why, her face would turn red and she'd say nothing. He tried asking their mother, but she just got a weird, yet happy, look. "I finally got to meet Hika's secret friend."

"She's also friends with Hika-chan," TK chirped. Taichi frowned slightly. Normally TK always called Hikari "Kari", but, no, wait, that was only when they thought they were alone. In fact, the one time Taichi called her "Kari", she got a bit mad. And now that he thought about it, she never told anyone she was friends with TK. And when he asked her why, for either of those things, once again, her face just turned red. And their mother just got that weird look. Was there some sort of secret meeting or something he missed?

"And I finally got meet the boy Hika was hiding from me," Sora said with a teasing smile. Taichi rolled his eyes, and then a thought struck him.

"How did you know it was a boy? Hikari didn't tell you anything about him." Sora's answer was just her "you dummy" look that made him want to smack her.

"Seriously, Taichi? You've known me and Hika for most of your life and you're still that clueless?"

"Um, Taichi-san," TK started. Taichi mentally sighed. He'd told the kid a hundred times to drop the "san". TK was practically family, heck, the son his parents wished they had. "Is it true Hika-chan's sick again?" He nodded, smiling at the boy.

"It's nothing big, but Mom didn't want to take any chances." TK looked as disappointed as Hikari. "She's disappointed too. Think your mother would let you visit after camp?" Which would hopefully be very, very soon. A quick glance at Sora showed she was thinking the same thing. Those darker shadows didn't really scare him but they did make him think of a terrifying experience TK went through right after the divorce. He did not want the kid having reminders of that time. And it looked like were a few more darker shadows than before.

"Yes! Mommy really likes Hika-chan! But is Hika-chan going to be okay?" Taichi smiled at the younger boy's concern. He was such a good friend to Hikari. And whatever was going on here, it wasn't drudging up those memories either.

"You know I wouldn't be here if she wasn't."

"Pity," Ishida said, his cold tone instantly souring Taichi's mood, "I was really hoping I could meet TK's girlfriend."

What?! _What?!_ "What?!" He glared at Ishida. "Gir-Gir-Gir… what do you mean?! She's too young! Ten years too young to have a bo- a bo- a bo-"

"That's enough, you two," Sora's voice took on tone implying physical violence would follow as she stood up and stomped over to Taichi. He met her glare, knowing she wouldn't try anything. She was pretty hotheaded at times, but not violent. Her voice dropped to an angry whisper, "You are _not_ fighting in front of TK-kun! He will _not_ be caught between you two!" He gave an annoyed sigh. He wasn't going drag TK into anything, he just wanted to defend Hikari's honor and reputation. But there was no arguing with Sora when little kids were involved.

"Anyways," Ishida's voice sounded a little irritated, "it's getting dark." That was true. It was noticeably darker than it was when Taichi was talking to Koushiro. In fact, it was starting to look like evening, but there was no way that much time had passed.

"Aw, TK-kun's not afraid of the dark, is he?" Sora asked, smiling at the younger boy. Uh oh. Time for a distraction.

"Um, no, not since-" TK started.

"Not since ever," Taichi interrupted, "After all, he's not like you when-" He was rewarded with a flash of anger in her eyes. She was so easy bait; he didn't even bother thinking of how he was going to finish that sentence. And good thing too. The conversation was getting dangerously close to those memories he was trying to protect TK from. Within a split second, Sora had yanked his soccer ball from his hands and gave it one of her better kicks, sending it flying into a cluster of trees. Come to think of it, he was pretty darn lucky Sora was so nonviolent.

A loud _smack_ and high pitched scream sounded. Sora's cocky grin swiftly changed into horror and she took off. Taichi followed, doing his absolute best not to laugh. Moments like this are what made pushing her buttons so worth it. From the corner of his eye, he could see even Ishida was holding back a laugh. TK just looked worried, and suddenly Taichi felt a spark of guilt given that he should've been taking the others to the cabin. But then again, even though he was seeing more of the darker shadows, they were just sitting there, being shadows. And he wasn't even certain he was seeing them; shadows didn't exactly come in one shade.

Sora's "victim" was a girl with long brown hair, lying face down in the ground. She had a long red dress with a poncho and brown gloves. A bit in front of her was a pink cowgirl hat, and past that was the ball. Taichi recalled her name was Tachikawa Mimi. She started to climb back to her feet and Taichi took a step back, earning a brief glare from Sora. _You did the kick, Sora. You deal with her._ With her hat back on, Mimi spun around, facing the group with a glare. "Who did that?!" Taichi nearly burst out laughing at her growl, or rather, squeak, "Which one of you brutes did that to me?!" _Even Hikari's angry voice is more intimidating!_ This was going to be good.

"Um, sorry," Sora apologized, "I just kicked the ball. I-I didn't think there was anyone out here. I'm really sorry." Mimi glared at her and stomped over to the soccer ball.

"This'll teach you! You'll never see this ball again!" Mimi pulled her leg back and swung with a shout. Her foot struck and the ball… rolled about three inches. Taichi had to summon all of his willpower not to laugh at the sight. Mimi gave an angry squeak and stomped up, kicking the ball again. Somehow, that kick was even sadder. She clenched her fists and came at the ball with a running kick, but her foot ended up on top of the ball and she fell on to her rear. "First I get lost and now this! How could Mommy and Daddy do this to me?!" she cried out, "Build character?! Is that what they call it when a bunch of thugs beat up an innocent girl?!"

"But we didn't…" Sora started, "and I said I was sorry, and…" She looked at Taichi, obviously aware of how hard he was trying not to laugh. "This is your fault!" she hissed.

"You kicked the ball," he reminded.

"You always do this to me!"

"You let me."

"We're really, really sorry," TK's voice sounded. The little guy was right to her, trying to help her up. Or at least, that's what Taichi thought he was doing; a little hard to tell given how short TK was. "We couldn't even see you over here, I mean it's kinda dark here and-" He was cut off as Mimi suddenly yanked him into a hug.

"You're such a little gentleman," she said, "I bet _you_ know how to treat a delicate lady like myself!" Taichi rolled his eyes. Once released, TK ran back to Taichi and Ishida, looking like he just met one of those annoying aunts who pinch cheeks. Mimi stood up and gave Sora a hard stare.

"There are better ways to get a girl's attention than throwing stuff at her!" Taichi's jaw dropped. Did he really just hear that? The look on Sora's face confirmed he did.

"I am a girl," she said, her voice dangerously quiet.

_Mimi __better think very carefully what she says next._ Mimi's head tilted down, and then she looked back up with a smug expression._Wait… did she just look at Sora's chest?_Taichi found himself making certain TK was close to him and Ishida. He'd seen enough television to know where this was going.

"Uh huh," Mimi's voice was filled with doubt. Sora's eyes widened and then narrowed.

"You're no better than me, there, princess!" she growled. Mimi looked looked like she was slapped.

"How _dare_ you?!"

"Catfight time," Taichi found himself muttering. Sora wasn't a violent person, but girls like Mimi really set her off. He heard some small footsteps. TK was walking around a little, like he was looking for something. "You lose something?"

"The kitties you said were fighting," he answered, "They're not hurting each other, are they?" Uh, oh. _Note to self: Watch what you say in front of the kid._

"Knock it off, already!" an impatient sounding Ishida shouted. Sora and Mimi both jumped and looked at him. _Way to ruin the show, blondie!_ Taichi thought angrily,_ And to think I'd almost managed to forget he was here!_ "In case you haven't noticed," Ishida continued on, "it's starting to look like night!" Taichi's blood froze. Ishida was right. It almost looked like the sun was setting, despite the fact that it was still up in the sky. And looking around, he was seeing a lot of the darker shadows now. And it looked like they were all angling towards him. "Something is wrong here!"

"Hate to admit it, but Ishida's right," Taichi said, angry with himself, "Koushiro and Jou are in the boys' cabin waiting for the rest of us." He thought for a moment. "And I think we're all accounted for now."

"What do you mean, boys' cabin?!" Mimi interrupted in a suspicious tone, "Are you seriously suggesting that a pair of innocent girls like us lock ourselves in with you?!" _Oh, for-_

"Think about it, Mimi-san!" Sora countered, "We're the only girls here! It's either with them or alone! We'll be safer if we all stay together."

"Look at the shadows," he said, "Some are darker and they're really cold if you step in one."

"They're really creepy," TK said. Taichi caught his breath.

_Dammit! TK! No!_ He looked at the small boy. Didn't look like he was remembering anything. That was a relief, though he still mentally kicked himself for his carelessness.

"Why's everything so dark?" Mimi whined, "I hate the dark."

"All the more reason for us to get to the cabin," Sora said. Another freezing wind blasted through. "What was that?!"

"A sign we need to move!" Ishida ordered.

"He's right," Taichi said, starting towards the cabin, "I felt one earlier, though it wasn't as bad! Let's go!" As he started running, he looked back to make sure everyone was following. Ishida was carrying TK and Sora was practically dragging Mimi. And the shadows from the trees were growing darker and darker. And starting to stretch towards him.

"I hate this place!" Mimi cried out.

* * *

Afterword: Catty Mimi is fun. This was actually the hardest part for me to write but the bit with Mimi made it all worth it.


	3. First Day 02

Foreword: Oh, this chapter. Every time I looked there was a problem. So glad it's up now.

* * *

Taichi let out a groan. These beds were the worst. It felt like he was sleeping on stone and his pillow was so flat he couldn't feel it. He was cold too; just how light were these blankets? And why did the air smell so musty? He moved his hands against the hard surface- _I'm sleeping on stone._

Not wanting to open his eyes, he felt around. Yep, it was stone alright. Did he fall off the bed or something… and roll away from it… _and go outside away from the wooden floor?_ He slowly forced his eyes open, fighting the glue keeping them shut. Still dark. _Okay then. Back to slee-_ wait, no. If it was dark, he was inside- no it'd be dark outside too. _Too much thinking for this early!_ He worked on keeping his eyes open as they adjusted to the darkness. He began noticing traces of large, stone blocks where the cabin's wood ceiling, or outside's night sky, should be. _Looks like one of those ancient temples._ He closed his eyes again. He didn't know there were any ancient temples near the camp site, especially so close to the cabins.

Taichi's eyes snapped open again. Why was he in an ancient temple?! He was supposed to be in the cabin, wasn't he?! He racked his brain, trying to remember. It was getting very dark and he was leading everyone back to the cabins. It wasn't far but every shadow, at least the ones cast by the trees, were becoming those super cold ones and they were angling towards him. Avoiding them definitely slowed him down. And then… and then… _I woke up here._ Where was here? What was here? Did they even get back to the cabins in the first place?

"Taichi!" a cheery voice suddenly shouted, causing him to sit right up, "You're finally up!" What was that?! He frantically looked around and his eyes fell on a pink ball with a very happy face and a big mouth. Two streamer like appendages were attached to the top, ears maybe? "You're finally up!" it said, "They weren't kidding when they said you were late sleeper!"

"Uh, who… Uh, what… Uh, who…" Just what was this creature? And how did it know him? At least it didn't seem dangerous. And if it was, well, it was roughly the size and shape of a soccer ball. But he did appreciate it not calling him "san" or "kun" or any of those other annoying honorwhatsits. Besides, this creature being so familiar with him felt right.

"My name's Koromon," the talking ball answered, "or, well, maybe 'name' isn't the right word. I mean all Koromon are called Koromon and it gets confusing. Anyways, I'm your new partner!"

"Uh, okay?" At least the ball had a name, or title, or whatever, but partner? It was definitely too early for this. And this air was so heavy, it was almost giving him a headache, like a heavy blanket was thrown over him. He started to stand and felt a wave of dizziness wash over.

"Easy, Taichi," Sora's voice sounded, "The air in here is terrible. Take it slow." He gave a slow nod and settled back down on to his back, looking over at her. She was sitting next to him with some sort of pink flower bulb with a flower poking out on her lap. And a face, of course.

"I'm Sora's partner, Yokomon," the bulb said, "and before you ask, I am girl just like Sora." The bulb was about helpful as the ball it seemed, but at least he no longer had to think of Koromon as an "it". Feeling the cobwebs in his head clear up, he started pushing himself to his feet while looking around. The room appeared to be rectangular with himself right in the center, though it was a little hard to tell given that right behind him was a stone wall that went up to his neck. On the far end directly in front was a large doorway with a lit torch on both sides though said torches really didn't do a good job illuminating this darkness. In fact, it almost looked like they were being smothered in a black haze. Following the walls on both sides of the doorway lead to two large pillars that had seen better days, and he could barely make out some small stones scattered around. Pieces of the pillars maybe? The walls looked to be made of the same stone as the ceiling but were also covered in strange symbols that somehow made him feel uneasy, though not as badly as this haze-like darkness filling the room.

Torchlit doorways were on his left and right too, though they were lacking the pillars. He looked over the partial wall and found a pitch black chasm that seemed to stretch across to the other side. Five torches were placed evenly along the wall with the center one being rather close to him, though strangely enough, he couldn't feel any warmth coming off of it. He reached out towards it, still feeling nothing.

"Careful, Taichi," Sora said in a teasing voice, "I know fire looks pretty, but-"

"Oh, shut up," he grumbled as he pulled his hand back. The chill filling this room was starting to remind him of the shadows from the campsite. "There is really something wrong here."

"I know what you mean," Koromon said, "We weren't supposed to be here. At least I don't think we were."

"This place is evil," Yokomon said, "I can feel it." That Taichi could agree with. He looked at Sora about to ask if the others were here too when he noticed something. A small squarish object on her belt.

"You have one too," she said, "but be careful with it." He looked at his hip and there it was. He grabbed it, noticing that it didn't feel clipped on to his belt or anything. In fact, the back of the object had nothing to clip on to with. The front had a small screen. He started getting a strange feeling from the object, like it was calling him or something.

"Be careful," Koromon warned, "I don't think it's ready yet." The object continued "calling" him. He closed his eyes and allowed it to reach him, or whatever it was trying to do. A screaming pain erupted through his hand as he felt something like a tentacle or tendril covered in static electricity begin burrowing in. He threw the object to the ground with a scream.

"We both told you to be careful!" Sora snapped, her tone laced with worry. Breathing heavily, Taichi looked at his hand. Not a scratch, though it sure felt like something had dug in.

"Should I have told him too?" Yokomon asked.

"It wouldn't have mattered," the last person he wanted to hear spoke, "When he wants to do something stupid, no force on Earth can stop him." Ignoring Ishida, Taichi glared at the object that looked so harmless now. And it was still calling him.

"It tried to eat me!"

"You must be careful with the digivices," another voice said. A very polite sounding one. "They are not quite ready for use yet." Taichi slowly picked the digivice back up, bracing himself for another "bite". Nothing. He placed it next to his belt and it stayed like before. He took a breath to calm himself and faced Ishida. The blonde was slowly walking in from the right doorway's along next to him was another ball with a face, though this one had orange fur around his face and a spike coming out of his head.

A scream came out of the doorway behind Ishida. Taichi jumped and looked around. "What's happening?!" As if on cue, Jou came barreling out of the doorway. Flying right behind him was some small gray creature. It almost looked like a tiny aquatic dinosaur that was missing half of its body. And a tuft of red hair on its head.

"Booga! Booga! Booga!" it, or going by the voice, he said with his fins up. Taichi almost burst out laughing at the sight. The thing that Jou was so terrified of looked like one of Hikari's stuffed animals. And the creature was clearly just playing around.

"Seriously, Pukamon?!" Yokomon snapped, "You're supposed to be his partner!" Jou stopped, leaning against the partial wall, breathing heavily.

"P-Partner?!" he panted. Taichi shrugged, still struggling not to laugh at the older boy.

"I don't get it either," he said, "but I'm pretty sure you don't have to be afraid of this little guy." Pukamon stopped in front of Jou with a big smile.

"Yeah, sorry about the booga booga booga. You were just so jumpy I couldn't resist."

"I-I thought you were a ghost," Jou panted. Pukamon's eyes lit up.

"You do kind of look like one," Koromon said, "You know, with that half body thing you have going on."

"I do?! Cool!" Pukamon chirped as he held out a fin, "But no, I'm just a friendly neighborhood Pukamon." Jou slowly stood, took Pukamon's fin, and gave it a nervous shake.

"May I take it everyone is settled, then?" Koushiro's voice sounded. He was coming out the same doorway Jou emerged from carrying a happy looking blob with two arms. The blob almost looked like a pink cactus minus the needles. Mimi was behind him carrying a green bulb with two leaves on top. "This fascinating creature is Motimon."

"Hi!" the blob said, "I'm the fascinating one, apparently."

"And this future flower is Tanemon," Mimi said, "Isn't is fitting for her to be my partner, given the beautiful flower I'm going to become?" _Uh, okay?_ Did this girl even realize what was happening? Thankfully Sora spoke up, sparing Taichi the hopeless task of responding.

"Seriously, Mimi-san? We're trapped in this creepy place and that's all you can think about?" Mimi gave Sora a haughty look.

"Jealousy is _such_ and ugly trait."

"Don't start!" Ishida snapped. Both girls looked at him, Sora looking a little annoyed at herself. Mimi just looked ready to shout back. "We're all here now." He looked at his orange ball partner. "Tsunomon, we need to know what's going on."

"Wait," Taichi interrupted, "Are we all here?" He looked everyone over. Himself, Ishida, Sora, Koushiro, Mimi, Jou, and T… Teeth. Lots of teeth. Very sharp teeth. With a shout he jumped back and landed on his rear.

"We got him, too, Tokomon!" TK laughed. Taichi just focused on catching his breath as he looked at the little meat grinder his little buddy was friends with. It was a big marshmallow with stubby legs, the ear streamer things… and those teeth.

"He got Yamato-kun and me too," Sora said, her laughter barely poking through. Ishida was looking like he was going treasure this moment. Growling, Taichi stood back up knowing full well that even if he did come up with some kind of revenge, he'd never be able to go through with it. And even if he did, Hikari would find out and get mad. Ah, well, better TK being annoying than being scared.

"Are you okay, Taichi?" Koromon asked. He also looked like he was trying not to laugh. Traitor.

"Fine," Taichi grumbled, "Just my pride. Now can someone explain what's going on?"

"This is the Digital World," Koromon answered, "Those digivices you have will give you special powers. And we are the Chosen Digimon, here to protect you, the Chosen Children."

"To be specific," Tsunomon said, "We should be in the File Kingdom, the capital of the Server Continent. This is File's architecture, but…" he looked around, "File was always considered holy ground. The Harmonius Ones would never allow it to be perverted by this darkness."

"The Harmonius Ones are kinda like gods," Tokomon said, "In fact, they were supposed to be here. They were gonna, um, modify the digivices so they work with you better."

"Human bodies are too complicated to do the final adjustments without you being present," Motimon said, "Otherwise the digivices will have to figure it out on their own. With great discomfort." Taichi grimaced, remembering the "discomfort".

"Sorry we know so little," Tanemon said, "The Harmonius Ones were supposed to fill you in."

"Better than nothing," Taichi assured, though he couldn't help but feel like the digimon were just really bad at this.

"What about this strange darkness?" Ishida asked, "It doesn't seem natural."

"And those really cold shadows from the camp?" Taichi added, "They actually felt kinda like this place, only colder."

"Darkness is the absence of Light," Tokomon said, sounding like he was reciting something, "Shadow is where the Light is blocked. I don't know what it means, but I know it's important."

"Can we please continue this somewhere else?" Mimi complained, "It's dark and creepy here. And Tanemon will wilt in this awful environment."

"I will?!" Tanemon asked, sounding worried.

"Yeah, we really should get out of here," Taichi agreed.

"But what about the kitties?" TK asked. Taichi inwardly groaned. _No, no, no, TK, no._

"Kitties?!" Mimi asked, her eyes brightened, the darkness seemingly forgotten, "There are kitties?! I love kitties! Where are the kitties?!" Before he could even begin to think of a response that could get out of this mess, TK dug him in even deeper.

"When you and Sora-san were arguing, Taichi-san said that some kitties were fighting." The room's temperature somehow dropped even further as he felt Sora's eyes fall on him. He didn't even have to look to see the expression on her face. Mimi just looked confused.

"But I didn't hear any kitties."

"Well, Taichi saw them," Sora's voice was a cold as the shadows from camp, "Why don't you tell us about the _cats_ you saw fighting?" Before he could even begin to think of a response that could get him out of this mess, Mimi spoke up again.

"Oh, I wouldn't worry. They were probably just playing which can look like fighting." Everyone fell silent over Mimi's clueless response._Welp, that's my cue to leave._He began silently backing away as a stunned Sora visibly mulled over what to say. TK just continued looking around.

"There's one!" he exclaimed. _What?!_ TK was pointing at the doorway at the far end, and… a white cat was walking in… on its hind legs… and it was wearing yellow gloves. _What kind of cat is that?_

"She's a Tailmon," Koromon said, sounding surprised, "but I thought they went extinct ages ago." Taichi just stared at the cat, not to sure what to make of her. Other than those massive claws, she really didn't look that dangerous. If Hikari were here, she'd be running over to cuddle her. But there was something about her eyes, something almost predatory.

Then her face warped into a feral grin and time slowed down for Taichi as she rocketed towards him, claws out. He quickly dove away from the others, feeling her claws whiz right by, and seeing a few strands of hair float down. He hit the ground rolling and stopping on his back. "Taichi!" Koromon called out, bouncing towards him as he scrambled back to his feet.

"Everyone else stay back!" Ishida shouted as Sora started to move. He held up Tsunomon while she grabbed Yokomon. Tailmon flew towards Taichi again but this time a spray of pink bubbles erupted from the two digimon. As the bubbles popped against her, she began wobbling and this time completely missed him, crash landing with a roll.

"Nice bubbles," he found himself saying, trying to process that last few seconds of flying killer cats and bubbles.

"Our bubbles are pretty strong," Koromon said as he hopped up in front and a large bubble began growing out of his mouth. Tailmon, meanwhile, was back on her feet and was already charging at him again. This time he calmly watched as the psycho cat rushed towards Koromon's bubble. Unfortunately, before she reached it, she somersaulted, her tail slamming into the ground, catapulting herself upwards. Taichi's eyes widened as she dropped down with her claws out. He scrambled over further right as she whizzed by, leaving a sharp pain in his shoulder. And the sensation of a liquid running down his arm.

"Taichi!" Sora shouted.

"We've got this!" Ishida said as he hurled Tsunomon at Tailmon.

"Taichi! I-I'm sorry!" Koromon started.

"D-Don't worry about it," Taichi said as he watched Tailmon sidestep Tsunomon, "Just do your best." That was what he'd say whenever the younger kids in the soccer club would mess up and right now he just couldn't think of anything else. Not with the absurd site of a spiked ball hopping around, trying to stab some psychotic cat and his shoulder telling him just how serious that cat was. _She's seriously trying to kill me. _Tailmon actually looked amused as she stepped around each of Tsunomon's thrusts, but then her paw or hand or whatever, in one lightning fast move, grabbed Tsunomon by the spike and stuck him into the floor.

"Um, I could use some help here!" he announced, frantically trying to wiggle himself free as Tailmon faced Taichi again. _Uh, right! Help! Tsunomon needs help!_ Taichi started to move when two others ran in front of him with a spray of bubbles aimed at Tailmon.

"Koromon!" Sora called as Tailmon leapt away from the bubbles, "Stay close to Taichi in case this doesn't work!"

"And Taichi-san!" Koushiro said, "Please compose yourself!" Yokomon and Motimon began forming big bubbles that touched and merged into one even bigger. The colossal bubble began floating towards Tailmon, forcing her to leap away. As soon as she was away from Tsunomon, Ishida ran out and began pulling him out of the floor. As Tailmon landed, Pukamon started raining bubbles from above. Then another spray from Tanemon and Tokomon. Taichi found himself starting to grin. "You've got her!"

Tailmon looked him in the eyes, and then gave a grin that chilled his blood. She spun, slashing a claw into the floor, and then a piece of stone flew from her paw. The giant bubble popped with a _bang_ and Taichi, Sora, and Koushiro were bowled over by a burst of wind. Koromon rolled back with a scream, Yokomon and Motimon following. Pukamon went straight up and hit the ceiling before dropping. Tailmon was on all fours, her claws dug into the floor, having braced herself against the burst.

_Crap! We can't stop her! _Sora and Koushiro both started to stand up while Yokomon and Motimon hopped up in front of them again. _Damn it! I should be protecting them!_ Angrily, Taichi started to push himself up, but without thinking, he pushed on his wounded arm. The sharp pain caused him to yelp and fall back down.

"We've got this, Taichi," Sora said, though the quiver in her voice said otherwise. Tailmon was moving again while Yokomon and Motimon fired their bubbles.

"Taichi," Koromon said in a quiet voice, "This isn't working. We're too weak."

"We'll find a way," he said, making sure to get up more carefully this time. He wasn't giving up now. He wasn't sent to a "Digital World" or whatever just to be killed by cat. That just didn't happen. "We'll find a way." Tailmon practically became a white blur as she weaved through the bubbles.

"You all need to run! We can at least be data shields!" Any response Taichi had to that died once Tailmon reached Sora and Koushiro. Sora shoved Koushiro aside but Tailmon, in one movement, grabbed Yokomon by the stem, spun, and smacked the digimon, bulb first, into Sora's face, sending the girl sprawling. Then, while still holding Yokomon, Tailmon leaped at her, somersaulting, smashing Yokomon down on her stomach. _Sora! _A sudden rage exploded from within. No one, _no one,_ hurt Sora in front of him! He was going to kill that cat himself if he had to! "See?! We're just getting in your way!" Koromon spoke up again, "We're just bodyguards! You still have the digivices!"

_The digivice!_ He remembered the pain the device caused, but it was nothing compared to watching Tailmon beat up Sora like that. He started focusing on it again, allowing its call to reach him. "What are you doing?!" Koromon asked. Taichi just barely noticed Ishida do a spin and hurl Tsunomon towards Tailmon, but she reached out, grabbed the digimon by the spike, performed her own spin, and tossed him back. Ishida barely ducked in time while the digimon's spike drove into the wall right next to Mimi's head. Her eyes widened as blood began to run down her cheek.

"I'm so sorry!" Tsunomon exclaimed, "Please forgive me!" Mimi touched her cheek, looked at the blood on her finger, and jumped away, screaming, with Tanemon hopping after her.

"Getting super powers," Taichi answered Koromon. He once again opened himself up to the digivice's call, and closed his eyes. The pain returned as badly as before, with the electric tendrils tearing into his hip. He let out a scream and fell to his knees, holding himself up with his hands, but allowed the digivice to keep digging. The tendrils reached his stomach, and a liquid with a rusty flavor started bubbling into his throat. He coughed it out, his eyes opening to the red puddle. He looked away from the blood and saw TK pulling at Tsunomon with Ishida rushing over. Ishida tackled his younger brother as Tailmon dropped down. The older blonde screamed, blood spraying from his back.

_Even Ishida didn't deserve that! _Using is anger at the sight, Taichi clenched his eyes and allowed the tendrils to reach his heart, bringing with them an awareness that this process was going to complete itself even if it killed him. His heart began beating rapidly and another wad of blood came into his mouth. Then the tendrils tore into his upper arms and thighs, and his arms nearly gave out. He risked another look, and the edges around his vision were darkening. Koushiro was charging at the cat while holding Motimon. As he reached her, he spun and Motimon's bubbles flew out, quite a bit faster than normal. Tailmon jumped to the side and Jou suddenly grabbed her from behind, his face expressing his own disbelief at what he was doing.

Taichi fell to his side as the tendrils ripped through his elbows and knees, his body feeling like an overcharged battery. Tailmon's tail snaked around Jou's neck, causing him to let her go, and as she landed, her tail snapped, throwing Jou into Koushiro. The tendrils reached Taichi's neck and he screamed and coughed, finding it almost impossible to breathe. He closed his eyes again, his vision getting too dark to bother keeping them open. The tendrils reached his eyes and they nearly burst out of his skull. He wanted to put his hands in front, but all he could do was roll on to his back as his fingers went through awkward twitches with the tendrils digging through each. His feet and toes were going through a similar torment- no make that his entire body shaking and twisting as if the tendrils were trying to contort him.

Then they reached his brain. His mind went fuzzy and his senses shut off. He couldn't hear, couldn't smell, and he knew if he opened his eyes, he wouldn't be able to see. But at least he couldn't feel the pain anymore. A reddish light appeared in his mind and began growing, washing over him with a calming and comforting warmth. Then it was gone and his senses returned, but no pain. His shoulder still hurt, more than before in fact, but other than that, he was just fine.

"Taichi! You did it!" The voice was unfamiliar, but he knew it was Koromon. Was. When he looked at his partner, the pink ball was now a small orange tyrannosaur. His head began to throb and his eyes began feeling ready to burst as the tendrils began acting up again but he somehow understood what was happening. Namely, the initial connection with the digivice was complete, but the specific functions, such as the digimon scanner, weren't completely adjusted yet. Still, the worst was over, making this next pain much easier to deal with.

A small image of the dinosaur appeared in his mind. He could see it as clearly as if it were in front of his eyes but it wasn't obscuring his vision. It was three dimensional and he could view it from any angle and distance. Information about the digimon poured into his head. It was Agumon and while the image showed him an average Agumon, he could switch it to the Agumon he was looking at. Agumon was able to breath fire, or expel the flames as a projectile. His claws could cut through stone with little effort. _I did it. I connected to the digivice and I… _Information entered his head. _Evolved Koromon?_

Taichi turned his attention to Tailmon who was slowly advancing on Mimi while popping the bubbles Tanemon and Tokomon were firing. Mimi was cowering behind the two digimon, while keeping TK behind her. But with Tailmon playing around like that, he had time to scan her. There's something he didn't notice. A gold ring on her tail that made her stronger. Other than that, her claws could cut through steel and her eyes were… hypnotic?

"Koro- er, Agumon," he whispered to his partner, "I think she's still stronger than you, but she has a ring on her tail. If we can remove it, she'll be weakened. And watch out for her eyes; they're hypnotic." Agumon nodded and began to circle towards Tailmon. Once at an angle where he wouldn't hit anyone else, he spewed a steam of orange flame. Tailmon jumped over and towards Agumon with her claws out. Agumon jumped at her with his claws, the two passing each other with a spray of sparks and appearing to land unharmed. Taichi rescanned Agumon, this time using his specific image. A couple of his claws were chipped. Not good.

Agumon began spitting fireballs which Tailmon expertly jumped around. _Agumon can't do this alone._ Maybe there was something else the digivice could do? The problem was that if Tailmon went after Taichi again, he wouldn't notice in time. A scream interrupted his thoughts. His eyes quickly fell on Ishida and he could see a reddish mist coming off of his back. _The digivice?! In his condition?!_ Taichi quickly looked around for others; he couldn't go himself without Tailmon noticing. There was Jou, frantically digging through his bag, and removing a roll of bandages. And Sora was moving to Ishida, though her steps were a little unsteady. Koushiro was moving to Mimi and TK. _Just have to trust them._ And hope the blonde moron didn't kill himself.

Back to Agumon. He was chasing Tailmon with a steam of fire while she jumped over him. The flames died out as she landed in front of Taichi. "Always wanted an orange handbag," she said with a cruel smirk and bolted towards the dinosaur_. Wait! She can talk?!_ She and Agumon slashed at each other again, ending the same way. Taichi couldn't help but wince slightly; Agumon's claws were not strong enough for that. As Agumon turned around, Tailmon jumped over and her tail shot out, wrapping around Agumon's snout. She flipped around, dragging him with her, slamming him into the ground back first, and then landed on his chest, pointing her claws at his throat.

Taichi glanced at Ishida. He was still working through his digivice. _Damn! How long did I need again?!_ But wait, Sora was heading over to him, no doubt to give him whatever protection she could. Still, it wouldn't be much. He needed to buy time. Time for Ishida to finish, or even time for Agumon to get free. "Why are you doing this?" he asked. Hopefully Tailmon was one of those monologueing villains.

Tailmon looked at him with her usual predatory grin while her tail released Agumon. "Why? Cause some digimon are just good by nature. And some of us are evil. And me? I'm one bad kitty." Then she shrieked and jumped off Agumon. Watching her run around, waving her tail around, Taichi could just barely make out Tokomon clamping on to her tail and, despite how much he hated the cat, he felt a pang of sympathy for her being bitten by that marshmallow piranha. "Get… off…. me… you… little… bastard!"

After one last shake of her tail, Tokomon was flung off, but another digimon came running in, head lowered, revealing a horn which was a dead giveaway as to who this digimon used to be. Taichi quickly scanned the former Tsunomon as Tailmon jumped over the attack. The digimon was Gabumon, some sort of yellow, lizard thing, though it was hard to be certain. Gabumon was covered in a light blue wolf skin with dark blue stripes. And he was capable of breathing fire like Agumon, though his flames were freezing, however that worked. His horn was as strong Agumon's claws.

Tailmon landed behind Gabumon, but her foot slipped and she went down. Taichi quickly noticed a dark glint on the floor. A very icy dark glint. "Now, Agumon!" Gabumon shouted and then spit three dark blue fireballs at Tailmon. She ran her claws into the floor and flung herself away, but Agumon's flames caught her dead on. She flew across the room and crashed into a wall.

"There's a ring on her tail!" Taichi called out as she stood back up, "She'll be weaker without it!"

"Ah, hairballs! You had to open your big mouth" Tailmon glared, "but I'm pretty sure you got bigger problems than me now!"

"What are talking about?!" Taichi demanded, but the cat was already running off to the central doorway.

"TK-chan!" Mimi cried out. Taichi immediately rushed over, a thousand horrific possibilities flashing through his mind. And there was TK, in front of a frantic Mimi, lying perfectly still. And on TK's chest wasn't Tokomon, but some sort of purple hamster with bat wings, who looked at Taichi with tear filled eyes.

"Help! A ghost came and now TK's not moving!"

* * *

Afterword: The digivices are going to be doing a lot more than just evolving the digimon now. I wanted to make the Chosen Children more active in the battles than just a power source for their digimon but I'm tired of biomerging.

I'm sure you noticed I'm not using attack names. I think the fights'll be more interesting if I keep the powers a little more general.


	4. First Day 03

_Calm down,_ Taichi told himself, _Calm down. Calm down. Calm down._ TK was lying completely still, as if he was… _Don't even think it! _"What's happening?" Sora asked as she came running up and gasped. "What happened?!"

"H-He w-was okay a-a s-second ago," Mimi sobbed, "Th-Then th-that ghost came… and..."

"A ghost?! Okay, l-let's calm down," Sora took a few breaths, "We'll find a way to help him, Mimi-san."

"Yeah..." Taichi muttered, still not believing what he was seeing. _He's even younger than Hikari… How's I__shida__ going to take this?_ Taichi tried to imagine how he'd feel if Hikari was… he couldn't even think it. And with how much pain Ishida already had to be in…_ Stop panicking! Start thinking! _He took several breaths to calm himself. _Okay, Tokomon's gone, but that thing is there. That means TK used the digivice, but… No! He couldn't have! There was no way his body could have handled it!_ He looked around TK's body. No blood or anything. So he couldn't have used the digivice… but then how did Tokomon became that thing?!

The little digimon looked up at him with tear filled eyes. "He just wanted to help! I told him not to use the digivice! I saw how much it hurt you but he really wanted to help!" Taichi's heart sank. Of course TK would try to help, regardless of the danger. Taichi's parents often joked he was a bad influence on the little guy, but moments like this really made him wonder. "B-But then, some h-hooded ghost came out of the floor and d-did something weird! A-And the digivice g-gave a black light, a-and I became this! Now TK won't wake up! And I don't wanna be a Tsukaimon! They're mean!"

"Um, okay, calm down," he told both Toko- er, Tsukaimon and himself, "Let's not panic here. Like Sora said, we'll find a way to help him." Even if it meant beating the answer out of that ghost with his bare hands. "And what did you mean by not wanting to be a Tsukaimon?"

"They're mean!" Tsukaimon unhelpfully repeated.

"I think what he means is that when we evolve normally, it's mostly our personality that determines what we become," Agumon explained, "and Tokomon was nothing like a Tsukaimon."

"I get it," Taichi said. He flinched as the digimon scanner burned in the information on Tsukaimon. Tsukaimon can breathe fire, though not as much as Agumon, and exhale… poison gas? Yikes. Even attack with a small amount dark energy, but nothing about it being "mean". "The scanner's not saying anything about Tsukaimon being mean."

"Scanner?!" Koushiro sounded interested.

"Yeah, I can scan digimon," Taichi answered, not taking his eyes off TK, "It tells me about their powers, but nothing else." A name quickly burned itself into his head. "Huh, it's called a DigiScanner." Why wait until now to tell him? Was this a need to know thing or something, because he wasn't really sure he trusted the little gadget to actually know what he needed to know.

"Fascinating. And in that case, I would suspect the lack of information is because the evolution was forced. Tell me, Agumon, do you still feel like Koromon?"

"Mostly, yes," the dinosaur answered, "I feel a little different, but not much."

"I suspected as much. And if your original personality is staying intact, I would guess whoever created the digivice didn't want us prejudging our digimon by what they evolve into."

"Um, this is really interesting," Mimi's shrill voice interrupted, "but in case you forgot, _our little TK-chan was attacked by a ghost!_"

_She's freaking __out__ even worse tha__n __Ishida__…_ Wait a minute. Ishida wasn't freaking out at all. Did that jackass not care what happened to his little brother?! Taichi looked around for the jerk- oh. There he was. Out cold. And Jou was out too? Well, at least Pukamon seemed to be looking after him. "Yamato-kun passed out after Tsunomon evolved," Sora spoke up, "Seems the digivice cauterized his wound."

"Ouch," Taichi said, grimacing. He's had a couple heat related accidents in the past, so he could imagine how that had to hurt.

"Jou-kun went to bandage him, but he took one look and fainted. It was a bit of a rush job, but I was able to get Yamato-kun bandaged up."

"Good thing you were there." Taichi looked at Sora, Koushiro, and Mimi, inwardly grimacing. "I think I can carry Ishida gently enough for his wound, but do any of you have a chance of carrying Jou?"

The three looked at each other though he already knew the answer. Mimi was out of the question. Koushiro already had his laptop and he was so short. Sora was the best shot, but she really didn't look confident.

"Never mind!" Pukamon announced, "He's waking up!" As the tiny water dinosaur said, Jou was slowly, and clumsily, climbing back to his feet.

"Um, sorry," he said, giving everyone a sheepish look, "I just can't handle blood." He peered at Ishida. "Someone did a good job, though."

"Thank you," Sora responded with a smile, "Our school's soccer club is filled with little Taichis so I get a lot of practice." Taichi rolled his eyes.

"Keep it up and you'll be needing first aid," he grumbled.

"You say something?" she asked in a sweet voice.

"Let's just go!" Mimi cut in, "I don't want TK-chan here any longer than he has to be!"

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"Remind why I'm carrying blondie here?" Taichi grumbled. Ishida on his back wasn't too hard… for about five minutes. Now the jerk was an even bigger-pain-in-the-back than pain-in-the-neck which was really saying something.

"Because Jou would trip," Pukamon chirped.

"Pukamon! I'm not that-" Jou's argument was cut off as Taichi heard him yelp and stumble, which was pretty impressive given how empty this corridor was. The entire group had agreed that since Tailmon left through the central doorway, that was the best chance of finding a way out. The walls were lined with torches lit with that heatless fire which only added to Taichi's impatience. It didn't help that the light practically died out as it reached the dark ceiling, almost like the darkness was pushing against the light.

"It can't go on forever," Tsukaimon said from his perch on TK's head, who was being carried on Sora's back, "File Kingdom is holy ground. This is probably just a cut off basement or something."

"I'm just worried if Agumon and Gabumon are enough," Sora said. The two digimon were several meters in front, specifically as far they could be while still visible in this darkness. Carrying Ishida, if Tailmon attacked again, or maybe that hooded ghost, Taichi wouldn't be able to do much. "I could give TK-kun to Mimi-"

"No!" Jou snapped, "Three digivices and only Taichi-san's okay! They're too dangerous!"

"He's right," Taichi agreed, "It felt like my digivice was trying to rip me apart."

"So I should just force you to handle everything?" Sora's voice took on an edge he'd rarely heard.

"At least let's wait until we can safely rest," Koushiro interrupted, "After that, however, I fully agree with Sora-san." The group traveled on in silence. Taichi took the opportunity to whisper a quick question to Sora.

"Okay, you're a girl-"

"That's the rumor," she interrupted while rolling her eyes.

"So anyways," Taichi continued, "any idea what's going on with Mimi? Why's she so obsessed with TK?" Sora looked thoughtful.

"Okay, remember that blackout a few weeks back?" he nodded. A storm knocked out power for a few hours. Wasn't really a big deal, but it happened at night and Hikari was not ready to go without her nightlight. She spent the entire time claiming their pet cat, Neko, was scared and kept trying to comfort the very, very patient animal. It was one of Sora's favorite Hikari stories.

"So he's her teddy bear?" he asked. She nodded.

"Pretty much. Now my turn." She took a breath and he knew what was coming. "Do you seriously think I'm just going to just stand back and watch as you risk your life like that again?"

"We're coming to a big room!" Agumon announced, thankfully sparing Taichi any need to respond. He _really_ didn't want any of the others going through what he did, but Sora did have a point. He and Agumon weren't even enough for Tailmon, let alone the hooded ghost and whatever else was here. _Who am I kidding? With a little guy like TK around, Sora would use the thing even if it did take me out._

Stepping into the new room, the torches quickly became visible, clearing away the darkness, and revealing a gigantic mural that made Taichi wish the darkness would return. In the center was some kind of floating fortress or, on closer inspection, it looked kind of like a city. The towers, or buildings, or whatever, had a very sleek design making them look like they were made of metal. Behind the fortress city thing was a gigantic dark mass that had seven tentacles stretching out. At the end of each tentacle was a figure, the sight of them awakening some sort instinctual fear in him, or perhaps it was the digivice that was afraid.

He couldn't make out most of the figures, but one kind of looked like an alligator with a really big mouth. Another was in robes with demonic wings. The one he really noticed had both feathered and bat like wings. And they were all killing something. Six of them were in pairs, killing a serpent-like dragon with a long beard, a two headed turtle with a tree for a shell, a bird covered in flames, and a tiger. The seventh one, who had the mixed wings, was slaying a more western looking dragon with spikes pointing upward from its side. The killings were disturbingly graphic, as if whoever did this mural reveled in how those five creatures suffered. It made him sick. "So glad TK's not awake to see this," he muttered.

"Jou-kun, Koushiro-kun, and Mimi-kun aren't even looking," Sora whispered to him, sounding a bit sick herself.

"I'll let you know when we find a way out of here," he announced back to the others. Forcing himself to look at the mural again, he noticed a symbol beneath the image, and five symbols beneath it, spaced across the entire wall. His head and eyes began burning as the DigiScanner activated. "The DigiScanner is translating these symbols!" he announced.

"Really?! What are they?!" Koushiro sounded like he'd forgotten about the image.

"Let's see. The top one is Shadow. The five below are Miracles, Destiny, Life, Death, and Equality."

"That's interesting," Mimi said in a sarcastic tone, "but can we _please _get out of here already?!"

"Yeah, sure." Looking at the sides of the room, there was only wall within the haze. No doorways or anything. So a secret door then? Great. Taichi really didn't want to look at the mural again.

"I think I found something!" Agumon announced from the Miracles symbol, "The air's a bit fresher here!" Taichi hurried over with Sora next to him. He could hear the others following, though a bit slower. Looking closely, he could just barely make out a seam on both sides of the symbol.

"Maybe we should get Koushiro-kun to examine-" Sora started to suggest when Taichi touched the symbol. It began to glow with an eerie purple light. Her voice turned to a growl. "Or we can just touch everything in this obviously cursed place." The wall around the symbol slid upwards.

"Found an exit!" Taichi chirped, shooting Sora a smug grin, and ignoring her withering glare. Looking through the opening, it looked like it lead to another big room, but the darkness didn't seem quite as thick. Agumon and Gabumon stepped through and looked around.

"It's safe!" Gabumon announced. Taichi stepped through with Sora right behind him. The room was at least as big as the one he'd woken up in, except this one didn't have a pit covering half of it. The usual torches lined the room, but the darkness didn't seem quite as hazy or oppressive. There was only one doorway leading in from the far side, next to it were two fallen stone pillars. The part of the floor he entering the room on was raised with three steps a few feet ahead.

"It's a throne room," Koushiro spoke. Taichi looked around, and there was a large stone throne against the wall in the center.

"So that awful picture was right behind the king of this place?" Mimi asked.

"The brighter the light," Tsukaimon said, sounding again like he just reciting, "the darker the shadow."

"And in this case the shadow swallowed the light," Taichi muttered. He looked ahead to the far side of the room. One large doorway leading in, two pillars on either side, though the pillars were now in several pieces. The walls on the left and right sides of the room had images of what looked like some type of fancy warrior but on each of them the faces were scratched off. Around the center of the room was a statue that looked kind of like an ankylosaur.

"Would any of you happen to know what the Harmonious Ones looked like?" Koushiro asked suddenly. Agumon and Gabumon looked at each other and then shook their heads.

"I don't either," Tsukaimon said.

"I feel like a lot of our information was rushed," Motimon said.

"That would explain how none of you knew the state File was in," Koushiro said, "Anyways, I'm suspecting that those creatures the mural showed us-"

"You mean those poor animals that thing was murdering?" Mimi asked in a bitter and sickened tone.

"Yes. I believe they were the Harmonious Ones. Look where it was, right behind the throne. And those carvings of those warriors, all of them defaced."

"Like a victory lap of someone very evil," Taichi said. Koushiro nodded.

"Whoever it was either built or took over the secret passages. I would guess a secret society or something that was able to stay hidden until they could strike, directly at the ruler no less. On top of that, considering how little our digimon know about File's situation, it's likely it happened after the digivices were finished, but before they were sent off."

"Wait!" Mimi snapped, "Are you seriously saying that we're supposed to fight whatever caused this?! I don't wanna fight! I hate fighting!"

"It's okay, Mimi," Tanemon said, "We won't make you do anything you don't want to!"

"And besides, fighting's our job," Agumon said, "We'll keep you safe and help you get back home." His voice turned sad. "And we might have to go with you." Taichi looked at Sora, her expression showing what he was feeling. _Yeah, it's great for us they're doing the hard part. But what about them?_

"It does look hopeless," Gabumon said.

"Maybe it'll be better when we get out of this creepy place," Tsukaimon suggested.

"I'm gonna check out the statue," Taichi said, wanting to take his mind off those depressing thoughts. Maybe a dinosaur statue would cheer him up a little. Nope. The ankylosaur was reared up with an expression of absolute fury. And it wasn't exactly an ankylosaur. It had large spikes around the edge of its shell, though most of them were just stumps. It looked like there were supposed to be spikes on its back too though none remained. Even the club at the end of its tail had a couple spikes and many more stumps. _I wonder…_ He concentrated on the DigiScanner, immediately being rewarded with the burning, but he was given the image of a yellow, spiky ankylosaur called Ankylomon. Its body was harder than steel and it had incredibly powerful legs that granted it amazing agility.

"The ghost!" Tsukaimon cried out. Taichi jumped back and looked around. There it was, right up above, wearing a gray tattered cloth and red hood and cape, almost looking like a small reaper. It was carrying a scythe connected to a chain. The other end of the chain had a metal ball attached to it. The DigiScanner called it Phantomon.

Phantomon held out a hand and a glowing object appeared above it. "That's a digicore!" Agumon said, "It's a digimon's soul!" _What?!_ The shock of what Taichi just heard caused him to lose focus on the Digiscanner, deactivating it.

"That's impossible!" Pukamon said, "When a digimon dies, our digicore goes to a Village of Beginnings with a bit of our physical data to be reborn!"

"He's a necromancer!" Tsukaimon said, "Taichi! Agumon! Get away from the Ankylomon! It's not a statue!" Taichi grabbed Agumon and ran towards the far exit, not wanting to lure this Ankylomon to the others. He soon heard a fearsome roar and a shadow began to fall over him. He dove forward, dragging Agumon with him, and the entire room suddenly shook with a loud _crash_. Letting Agumon go, he scrambled to his feet and began running and turning around just in time to see Ankylomon's tail club slamming down in front of him, vibrating the floor again.

The tail raised and he immediately knew to run. He zigzagged towards the exit, Ankylomon's tail crashing right behind him each time, the floor trembling with each blow. Then it stopped and Ankylomon roared in another direction. Taichi spun around and slowed as he saw a large crack in the floor where the dinosaur tried to jump on him. Ankylomon itself was facing Gabumon and Agumon. It had three patches of ice on its shell- no, make that two. Agumon shot one off.

Ankylomon suddenly launched itself upwards and flipped over to its back as it began dropping, but thankfully, Agumon and Gabumon were already running. Ankylomon slammed into the ground, vibrating the floor with its impact, and flipping to its feet a split second later and sweeping its tail, catching both of the smaller digimon, throwing them next to Taichi. It then pointed itself at the others. "No!" Taichi shouted.

"We'll stop him!" Agumon shouted as he and Gabumon ran towards the dinosaur.

"Scatter!" Sora shouted as she started running, carrying Yokomon. Jou was already lifting Ishida while Pukamon covered him. Ankylomon lunged towards Mimi head first and the girl flew back into a wall, Tanemon crying out her name. A burst of purple gas spread across Ankylomon's face, getting its attention. Tsukaimon fired another shot, Ankylomon looking a little irritated, but then Agumon shot a fireball. It hit the gas cloud and exploded, causing Ankylomon to step back. It quickly jumped forward, spun around as Gabumon's ice fire left a streak of ice on its shell. Then the three digimon scattered as Ankylomon raised its tail and started hammering it at them.

With each blow vibrating the floor, Taichi's eyes fell on the two points where the Ankylomon crashed down earlier. The cracks were growing. _Oh, crap. We're in trouble!_ "Get it over here!" he shouted, "The floor's starting to give, so let's make him fall alone!"

Ankylomon seemed to hear him because it immediately sprung into the air, somersaulting towards him. Once again, Taichi could only dive, but he did manage to go diagonal from Ankylomon, so the tail only landed next to him. And within half a second, Ankylomon had flipped to its feet and was in the air again. _Oh, come on! That's not fair!_ He started to scramble back, hoping for some sort of miracle. A large pink bubble came in the corner of his vision. It popped and he was lifted off the ground as Ankylomon just missed him.

He hit the ground rolling. Once he stopped, he could see his saviors were Sora and Koushiro, holding their digimon, and were running in different directions. Ankylomon crashed and suddenly the floor was gone and Taichi was falling into the darkness below.

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Afterword: This fight was a lot tougher to write than the previous one, which really surprised me. I thought this one would be one of the easier ones.


	5. First Day 04

Foreword: I knew from the start my earlier update rate wouldn't last, but I thought it'd last longer than this. Anyways, we got a real big one this time.

* * *

Sora was in absolute agony. Waking from the fall the Ankylomon caused, she found her body completely numb from cold. The most she could do was lift her head, leaving her with nothing to do but wait for the flames to finish consuming her. She wanted to scream, in fact she did so several times already, but all that came out was a choked breath. All she could do was wait for the endless seconds it would take for the flames to end her misery.

_No! I don't want to die! _The rush of fear forced her eyes open and she slowly lifted her head, praying she'd find something that could save her. What she saw stunned her, or rather, what she didn't see. _The flames! Where are they?!_ There wasn't any fire on her! Even though she could feel herself burning, there was no fire, or even burns! Her neck lost what little strength it had and her head smacked against the stone floor, another pain to pierce the numbness. She rolled her head left and saw Koushiro lying still. Hopefully he was unconscious, being spared this pain. Next to him was Motimon, and it was hard to tell in the darkness, but it looked like it was breathing very shallowly. She rolled her head right, finding Taichi lying still, and a rock with some red was close to his head. She inwardly winced; he was definitely out._Please let that hard head of yours live up to its repu__t__ation._Agumon was just in view, on his stomach, but slowly pushing his trembling form to his feet.

No sign of Yokomon, but given how Motimon was faring compared to Agumon, Sora already knew she was in bad shape. Whatever was causing this didn't seem to affect evolved digimon as much._Or maybe Taichi's digivice is protecting Agumon!_ That was both a comforting and terrifying thought, considering what the digivice did to him in the first place. On the other hand, Yamato was in pretty bad shape and he lived. Resignation sunk in._ The digivice is my only option._

She opened her mind to the digivice's subtle call and immediately gave off a choked gurgle as she felt electric tendrils burrow into her side. As they entered her stomach, the nonexistent flames disappeared, though it still felt cold and burnt. Liquid began bubbling into her throat and she began desperately coughing it out, trying to roll her head to either side before she drowned. In her desperate flails, she managed to force herself to roll on to her stomach, right as the tendrils entered her chest. She coughed the blood out, her chest feeling ready to explode each time, and the tendrils reached her arms and legs right as the smell of blood and vomit reached her nose. Feeling ready to throw up again, Sora managed to roll herself away from the first mess, just in time to make the next. She wasted no time forcing herself to roll from that mess too, though it felt like her arms were turning into broken glass.

Her vision began to darken as she stopped on her stomach again. Her strength was leaving her, no match for the crushing pain. Was this what it was like for Taichi? No wonder he was insistent no one else used the digivice. And how did Yamato manage to endure it? And how much did TK go through- The darkness cleared from her vision, the thought of TK, who was even younger than Hikari, enduring even a fraction of a second of this reignited her determination. _T__K-kun would never survive this! Someone will have to keep him safe at all times so he won't have to __try__!_ That thought was all the motivation she needed. And just in time, the tendrils reached her eyes, making them feel ready to explode out of her head. She became aware of the contortions her limbs and fingers were going through, knowing she could only hope they didn't twist or even break something. Then the tendrils reached her brain and everything shut off, leaving only sweet nothingness.

A gray light appeared in her head and swallowed her, bringing the feeling of a gentle breeze. Then the light was gone and her senses returned. A moment later, she realized the pain was gone. Well, not all the pain; the freezing and burning were still very present, though her body wasn't so numb now. But the digivice pain was gone. It dawned on her. _I did it. Even with what was happening, I survived the digivice!_ She slowly forced herself to sit up ignoring the burning dryness of her throat, along with the burning freeze covering her body. She started to fall back but quickly hit a stone wall that felt like it was coated in acid. Or was it broken glass? Another scream choking its way out of her, she forced herself to simply endure and looked around, trying to find Yokomon. There, not too far from the puddle of blood and vomit she first made, she saw a pink bird. Her head started throbbing and her eyes wanted to explode again along with warnings appearing in her head, telling her how it was just the initial connection that was completed. Then she found a three dimensional image of the bird in her vision. The bird was Piyomon and she could generate super heated winds. Her beak was strong enough to penetrate stone.

Now Sora just had to get to Piyomon and, well, she didn't know. But it was better than just sitting around like this. She slowly forced herself to turn and placed her hands on the wall, ignoring the broken glass-like feeling. Pushing her hands against it, she pulled downwards to help lift herself up. Slowly she reached her knees, her kneecaps feeling ready to shatter and searing hot tears leaving trails of ice on her face. She raised her hands to grip the wall at a higher point and found her hands reaching over it. _The wall doesn't go all the way up? That'll make this a bit easier._ She lowered her hands to find the top and wrapped her hands around it.

Her fingers found themselves in a pool of liquid nitrogen and molten lava. Even as the pain registered, she fell on to her back, a wave of nausea washing over. She gave out another choked scream as her back hit the floor and she could swear her ribs and spine shattered, except if her spine had broken, at least part of her body would be spared this agony. And the mix of nitrogen and lava was running down her hands and arms leaving her afraid of what condition they were in now as the molten tears continued freezing her face.

"Sora…" she barely heard a weak voice call. It kind of reminded her of… More pain as the head of the pink bird rested on her chest, looking at her with sad eyes. "Sora…" the little creature muttered, tears growing. _Piyomon!_ she remembered.

"P-Piyo…" she managed to choke out. She found herself raising a damaged hand to pet her partner when she saw her fingers. They were just fine, only wet. She watched one of the molten droplets run down her hand, leaving unseen ice. The scanner, _DigiScanner, __Taichi called it,_ blasted it's way back into her._ No! No__t__ another digimon!_ No, it wasn't a digimon. It was the water itself being scanned. The water had an extremely hazardous unknown contaminant. Full effects were unknown, but it wasn't penetrating her skin at least. "The… water… It's the water…"

"Water?" Piyomon lifted her head, "What water?"

"It's splashed… all around…" Sora stopped to catch her breath. She recalled seeing puddles of that water all over. Like something splashed when they fell. "Ankylomon," she suddenly realized, "Ankylomon… fell in water… splashed us…" Piyomon's eyes widened.

"We're soaked!" she said. She slowly started turning around. "I think… I can dry… Just don't… want to splash… you."

"Right," Sora answered, remembering what the digivice said about Piyomon creating super heated winds. She looked at her shirt and a very painful reality set in. Gritting her teeth, she once again rolled over and pushed herself to her knees. Then she gripped the hem of her shirt and started to lift. It felt like scraping a mix of broken glass and steel wool over her body but as she lifted past her stomach, she definitely noticed an improvement. It really was the water, or whatever that liquid was, doing this to her. _And to the others._ Her first thought was Taichi, but no, he'd brute force through the pain. He'd be more in danger of being burnt by Agumon's attempts at drying him. _Uh oh. That could really happen. I should get Agumon on drying our clothes instead._

She watched Piyomon give her wings unsteady flaps. With each movement, her feathers ruffled, as if wind was blowing through and, after a few flaps, she was starting to look a little better. And looking over at Agumon, it looked like he'd taken the hint, breathing small flames over himself. Motimon, however, looked like he was barely breathing. He needed help now. Setting her shirt down she was finding much easier to breathe, though the rotting smell filling the room really didn't really help. _That blood and puke I left all over isn't helping either._ "Piyomon!" she managed to call to her partner, "Help Motimon as soon as you can! I don't think he'll last much longer!" Piyomon looked over at the little blob.

"Wow, he looks terrible," she looked back at Sora, "I'll get right- what are you doing?!" her eyes were wider than Sora thought possible. It was actually pretty funny.

"My clothes are covered in that water," she said as she removed her pants. Her upper body was feeling a lot better, except for where her bra was. And given how much exposure she already had to the water…_I can already hear my mother freaking out._ Oh well. It wasn't that much worse than that little incident that resulted in her and Taichi getting "the talk" a bit earlier than their mothers intended."There's no telling how dangerous it really is," she explained as she started removing her bra. "That reminds me. Agumon!" Agumon looked up from breathing fire over his legs. He still looked a bit pained.

"Yeah Sor- Wow!" Oh brother. The dinosaur? Seriously?

"Knock it off! You're not even human!"

"Oh, y-yeah," Agumon gave a sheepish look, "Th-The water made me do it. I can't get off my head and back."

"I'm sure. Piyomon can get that after she helps Motimon. I'm going to need you do dry our clothes."

"Okay. Um, put them closer to the center and stay away. That way you won't inhale the steam." Sora nodded, not even wanting to think of what it would feel like getting that stuff inside.

"And keep your head down when I dry you," Piyomon added.

Clothes laid out for Agumon, Sora watched Piyomon flap her winds over Motimon. The little digimon's breathing grew stronger by the second much to Sora's relief. _Guess it only hurts us when we're exposed. And speaking of exposed…_ She looked back at Taichi and again at Koushiro. Both were still out, a lump of worry began growing in her stomach. Her head gave off a throb and some words appeared in the top of her vision. According to the message, a Chosen Digimon's life is linked directly to their Chosen Child, even if the digivice itself has not been linked. If the Child dies, the digimon will die too, though the reverse was not true._Well, um, that's, uh, kind of nice and horrible._Sure it was great knowing Taichi and Koushiro were okay, but it was saying about Piyomon, about all those digimon, that was just wrong.

_No point in worrying about it now. _She laid out the last of her clothes in the center like Agumon said. Now she had to decide, who to strip first. No, she already knew it would have be Koushiro. With his digivice still unlinked, he would be taking the full brunt of the water's torment. She slowly walked over to him, amazed at how much better she felt. What was that liquid flowing behind the wall? The rest of the room was just a big stone box with scattered torches and one doorway on Koushiro's side. She took a look up and could just make out the ceiling, but the hole Ankylomon made looked like a black void stretching into infinite. But the fall couldn't have been that bad, there should've been at least some signs of light from above. Perhaps she should try calling out to the others? No, bad idea. She might wake up Koushiro.

"What are you doing?" Motimon sounded as she reached for Koushiro's shirt, flinching at the burning cold feeling it gave, "And why are you… Should I leave the room?!" Oh, for the… She looked at the blob, seeing that he was perfectly fine now. A bit further she could see Piyomon flapping over a very relieved looking Agumon.

"The water is what's hurting us and our clothes are soaked in it," she answered, trying to keep the annoyance out of her voice, "Agumon's going to dry them. Speaking of which, how did Piyomon's winds feel?"

"A little hot at first, but she toned it down. And now I feel all better." That was a relief. "So, you used the digivice?"

"I did," she answered, trying not to remember how it felt, "and it was worse than Taichi had said. I know the water made it worse, but I really thought it was going to kill me." Shirt was off. Now for the pants.

"Um, is it really okay to do that while he's out cold?"

"No. But when I woke up, I couldn't even move until I activated my digivice. I can't let him go through what I did. I mean, he is younger than me." She couldn't help but laugh at herself for saying that. For one thing, it didn't matter he was younger, she'd do the same for Jou. At the same time, she could just hear her jerkass best friend's taunting. _How nice, you've got a new baby._

Being one of the few girls in the soccer club, and by far the most skilled, she was subject to more than a few crushes. Especially from younger boys who would, of course, pretend to hate her. They were so much fun to tease but at the same time, she'd become a little protective of them. And then Taichi, not having enough irritating habits to begin with, started calling them her "babies".

Maybe it was her association with the Yagamis that made her like that. Taichi, who was pretty protective of the younger club members himself, was more than a little smothering when it came to Hikari; he'd be ready to call the hospital over a paper cut. And from how TK made it sound, Hikari wasn't that much different. Sometimes she would decide her six months on him were the same as six years. And then there was all the stories Taichi's and Hikari's mother had about the times their father "defended her honor".

"I think hero complexes are genetic," Sora muttered to herself, "and contagious." Finished with Koushiro's clothes, she began to gather them when she heard a slight moan. _Oh, no, no, no. Not now!_ She helplessly watched as Koushiro began to stir. _Why now?!_

"That was unpleasant," Koushiro muttered, "and I really don't feel well." His eyes started to blink open. "Sora-san? What-" His eyes shot open and his jaw dropped. Sora dropped the clothes and started backing away, waiting for the rest of his reaction but he was as still as statue. She took a breath before attempting her explanation.

"Um, okay Koushiro-kun, I know this-"

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" he exclaimed, swiftly turning his head away, "I mean I didn't- I mean I- I- Where's my clothes?! I mean-"

"It was the water!" Sora blurted out, "We were all covered some sort of deadly water! Our clothes were soaked in it! I had no choice!" Koushiro went silent and she found herself worrying. While she didn't normally care that much about her reputation, this was _not_ an impression she could live down. One of Koushiro's hands slowly moved to his wet clothes and it shot back right as he touched.

"That felt like a mixture of fire and ice!" he exclaimed, "If I was wearing this…"

"Believe me, I know," Sora agreed, "It was so bad, I had to chance my digivice. It helped just enough to let me move." Koushiro went silent again for a moment.

"Thank you Sora-san," he said at last, "And I apologize for my reaction. And for the unworthy thoughts that were growing in my head. Please don't be offended by my refusal to look your way." A warm breeze washed over with the sound of Piyomon's flapping. "What is that?"

"That's just Yokomon," Sora assured, "or Piyomon now. She's creating a warm wind to dry us off. Lie on your stomach so you don't inhale any steam. And don't worry about the way you reacted. It was better than certain digimon." Once he was on his stomach, she followed suit and closed her eyes, enjoying the feeling of the warm wind.

"On to your backs now," Piyomon eventually ordered, "Make sure you roll so Koushiro doesn't see anything."

"I'm not looking!" Koushiro added. Sora rolled her eyes and did as she was told.

"How are my clothes doing?" she asked. She could hear Agumon breathing fire and the lack of panicked sounds gave her hope he wasn't destroying them.

"Slow. Agumon's really afraid of wrecking your clothes, so he's being very careful."

"I'll bet Taichi-san will have an interesting reaction," Koushiro said with a forced sounding laugh. Sora fell silent, remembering, or rather, trying not to remember some of the bigger messes Taichi had gotten her into.

"Trust me, Koushiro-kun," she said, "that idiot's gotten us into so much trouble, we're both pretty much desensitized."

"You two are very interesting people," Koushiro said with a more genuine laugh, "But right now, I'm thinking I should use my digivice. I'm sure Motimon would like to be of more use and I suspect I could use the extra protection."

"Bad idea!" Motimon exclaimed, "Before Piyomon dried me off, I was barely conscious from the pain and I still heard those awful sounds Sora was making!" That was impressive, given how little noise she thought she was making.

"Motimon's right," she said, "That thing almost killed me and I know I'm in better shape than you."

"I suppose you're right," Koushiro said, sounding disappointed.

"Taichi's still out, so I'm going to do him now," she said, grabbing his clothes, "Agumon will dry these off." Koushiro remained silent. She felt terrible for him, knowing he just wanted to help, but it was too much of a risk. "We'll find a way to let you safely use your digivice," she assured as she started towards the center. Koushiro suddenly gave off a scream that could only come from electric tendrils burrowing into his body.

* * *

Yamato stared numbly into the abyss the floor gave into, struggling to process what Gabumon had just told him. _Gone. They're gone._Barely aware of how much it was hurting his back to keep sitting up, he desperately looked around for something, anything, to show that this was just a bad dream. Gabumon was sitting next to him in silence, clearly understanding that talking to him now would be a bad idea. TK was in still in a coma that, according to Tsukaimon, was caused by some sort of ghost while using the digivice. The thought of his little brother putting himself through that agony just because he wanted to help didn't really surprise Yamato but it filled him with an incredible pride for his brother and an unimaginable fury at whoever dragged them into this nightmare.

He looked over at Mimi and Jou. They weren't too close, but he could almost hear Mimi's pained sobs. From what Gabumon told him, she was headbutted by something called Ankylomon and, according to Jou, the poor girl had some ribs that were cracked, if not outright broken. For a girl who seemed like the type to cry over a broken nail, Yamato could only try to sympathize with how much pain she had to be in. Jou, to his credit, was acting incredibly composed. Sure, he looked like he wanted to both throw up and pass out, but he was cutting away at the top of Mimi's dress without seeming to cause her any extra pain. _And to think I wanted to laugh at his bag._ On top of the scissors, Jou had also withdrawn a roll of bandages, a bottle of painkillers, and a canteen of water.

Unfortunately, unless there some kind of time machine in there, it really didn't matter how prepared Jou was. Looking back at the hole, he still couldn't believe it. Sora, Koushiro, and even Yagami were gone. Yamato was on the verge of becoming friends with Sora, if he wasn't already. She was just so easy to get along with, and knew just how to treat TK. Koushiro just seemed so unassuming, not really the type to rush in, but still pretty brave. Yamato had to admit to feeling a certain amount of respect for the younger boy. And Yagami? He may have been the most obnoxious jackass Yamato ever had the displeasure of knowing, but he didn't deserve that. And what about Hikari? He never met the younger Yagami, but from how TK made her sound, she was a bit dependent on her big brother. What would she do now? It wasn't like he could ever be the big brother, or even friend, she'd need. _Why am I even asking this? We're not getting out of here._ _It's hopeless. We're all going to die here._ He looked back at TK and tears began to fill his eyes. _I'm so sorry TK. You need me and I can't do a damn thing! I'm so sorry!_

A fireball exploded in his head. **Yamato-san! Are you getting this?!**

**What?! ****What happened?!**** What's going on?! Why are these words appearing?! ****Why is my head hurting?!****I don't understand!**

** Calm down, Yamato-san! The digivices have a messaging function, but the input is telepathic. Sora-san and I spent a few minutes practicing, uh, filtering our thoughts. **

** You're alive, Koushiro-kun?! That's wonderful! I mean- Is Sora-kun okay too?! What about Yagami-kun?!**

** Please calm yourself! And good job recognizing me, though I suppose it was more deduction. Anyways, yes, Sora-san and I are just fine, ****at least for the most part. Well, Sora more so than me. We both activated our digivices and I can barely move right now. Taichi-san hit his head when we landed and he's still out, though w****e believe he's still okay****.**

** You used the digivice?! Are you okay?! I mean, I know you can't move and shut up, shut up!**

**Please Yamato-san, remember, I was able to practice. Sora-san and I were just as awkward. And I believe I'm okay now but I honestly didn't think I was going to make it. I ****believe I am essentially the weakest a person can be to withstand the digivice. ****Now, I have two important questions to ask you. ****First of all, is my laptop okay?**

** Seriously? I mean, darn it. Okay, stop thinking and** He forced himself to stop thinking and looked towards Jou and Mimi. **Looks like it's next to Mimi-san. Jou-kun's doing okay I guess and it looks like he's doing a good job bandaging her ch- why am I still looking?!**

** Well, thank him for me when you can. Now for my other question. I suspect you're seeing a black void when you look in the pit, correct?**

** Yes! I can't see any trace of you! I thought you were all… I can't even think it.**

** The fall was not actually that bad but when I look at the hole in the ceiling, I too just see the black void. It is becoming very obvious that the lighting here does not follow our physical laws.**

**Yeah, ****the**** light****ing****. I really thought her you were dead. I mean I didn't even know what to do, or what**

** And you need to learn to control this messaging function.**

** I can almost hear Sora-kun laugh- wait! Don't send that! Or that! Or that!**

** Yamato-kun! Chill! Look, Koushiro-kun's dropped out so it's just us. We'll work getting you to a point where you won't be giving Taichi blackmail material.**

** Thank you. **As Koushiro had said, controlling the telepathic messages wasn't hard. It almost like thinking in a way the digivice would send, and one it wouldn't. Once that was done Sora began filling him in on everything that happened since he fainted.

_Ugh. Could someone get the jackhammer off __of__ my head?_ Taichi thought as he came to consciousness. His head was killing him, he was even colder than before, something smelled like it died, he could hear running water, and there was some annoying flapping sound._Some days it just doesn't pay to be conscious. _He felt around the stone floor. What happened? Oh, that's right. Ankylomon broke the floor and he fell. How far did he fall? He began pushing himself into a sitting position while forcing his eyes open, his head protesting very loudly. _Shut up. It wasn't like the floor was any better._ He looked around and quickly found Agumon breathing fire over something. Finally sitting up, he took a harder look at what Agumon was apparently heating. _Those look like my clothes! And Sora's?_ He immediately looked down at himself. _That explains why I'm so cold._

He looked around the room and found Koushiro sitting against a partial wall and Sora putting a shirt on him. And she wasn't wearing anything. _What did I just miss-_ He immediately noticed the big ladybug standing near the duo and a pink bird was flapping over ground. _Oh. Ohhh._ It didn't explain the clothes, but now he knew why Koushiro wasn't dressing himself._I told them not to do it!_ Headache forgotten, he glanced around, quickly finding the familiar blood , it didn't surprise him Sora went through with it, but Koushiro? That was a shock, and possibly a big mistake. He looked back at the new digimon using the DigiScanner. Tentomon had claws comparable to Agumon's and could generate electric bursts with his wings. And Piyomon sounded perfect for Sora.

"Taichi's clothes are dry!" Agumon announced. He looked over in Taichi's direction and his eyes lit up. "Taichi! You're up!" Uh oh.

"Easy! I got a headache!" Taichi called as the dinosaur barreled towards him. Agumon came to a screeching stop with an embarrassed look on his face.

"Sorry about that. I was just so worried. I mean, you hit your head when you landed." Well, that explained the headache.

"Not like I ever use it," he responded with a shrug. A bunch of clothes landed on him. His clothes now that he looked. "Nice and warm."

"I dried them!" Agumon said with a smile. So what, was he fished out of the water or something?

"Uh, thanks," he said, looking where clothes came flying from. "You couldn't wake me for the party? Some friend." Sora rolled her eyes. "Of course, Mom always warned you were a bad girl."

"Just get dressed already," Sora's voice took on the forced impatience he had long learned to recognize, "I'm seeing far more of you than I'm comfortable with. Hey Agumon, go help Piyomon, will you?"

"Oh yeah! I'm supposed to be doing that now!" Agumon ran off to join Piyomon who was still flapping around for some reason.

"It's the water," Sora said as she headed over to her own clothes pile. Taichi looked back at the partial wall. Now that she had mentioned it, he was hearing water running on the other side.

"Did we fall in or something?" he asked as he started getting his underwear back on.

"Just Ankylomon. We were all splashed," Sora's voice turned dark and, as she began dressing herself, she explained what the water did to her and how she had to use the digivice. "Piyomon and Agumon are evaporating the water on the floor now."

"And what about Koushiro?" he asked, looking back at the other boy, who still wasn't moving. A message appeared in his vision. "Wait I have a message-" his stomach sank reading it, "Are you kidding me?!" He looked at Agumon who was happily heating the ground. Did he even know his life was connected to Taichi's?

"I got the same message," Sora sounded as angry as he felt, "I'm wondering if I should tell Piyomon."

"I wouldn't" Taichi said, "At least not yet. I don't want Agumon to feel like he has to be with me. I want him to want to." Sora nodded.

"I agree. Now, about Koushiro, he's okay. Just really, really weak." She gave an annoyed and worried sigh that was normally reserved for the kids in the soccer club, "I told him not to use the digivice. He went and did it anyhow." Her voice turned soft. "He just resting now but I swear we almost lost him." Taichi let her words sink in.

"So we are definitely not letting TK touch his digivice again," he said, "In fact, either you, me, or Ishida should be with him at all times in case he gets any ideas. And he will."

"Mimi-san too," Sora added, "If Koushiro-kun could barely handle it, she never will. Of course, this is all pointless unless we find a way out of here." Taichi nodded, looking up. Even if he could find a way to climb through that hole in the ceiling, he really didn't feel like going through such thick darkness was a good idea. Not to mention the risk of falling in the water.

"I have an idea!" Tentomon suddenly called out, fluttering over, "Let's follow the water to its source! Digital World water filters, especially ones used in important places like this palace, never wear out. This water should be perfectly drinkable."

"We do need water," Taichi admitted. His stomach growled. "And food."

"Can't help with that, I'm afraid," Tentomon said, "but if we do find anything edible, the Rebirth Maintenance will have kept it fresh."

"The what maintenance?" Taichi and Sora asked simultaneously.

"We haven't… told… them about the… Rebirth Cycle," Piyomon panted as she flew over. She started to drop but Sora lunged forward and caught her. "Thanks."

"We're done the floor," Agumon announced as he followed Piyomon, "Seriously Piyomon, you could've stopped when I started."

"Needed the… practice," Piyomon responded, "Have to do…. my best for Sora."

"You can't do your best if you're too tired," Sora said, "Don't go hurting yourself for me."

"Okay, now about the Rebirth Cycle," Tentomon interrupted, "When we, uh…"

"Buy the farm!" Agumon said as he stopped next to Taichi, "I like that one!"

"People really say that? What does farming have to do with-"

"Tentomon!" Piyomon interrupted.

"Okay, okay! After the, uh, farm thing, our digicore goes to a Village of Beginnings along with some of the data from our bodies. The data forms an egg that forms a new body around the digicore, sometimes with memories, sometimes not. No idea why. The rest of the data is absorbed into the Digital World itself, restoring any natural resources and repairing damage."

"But only if your digicore can go. That's what's so awful about Phantomon," Piyomon said in a sad voice, "By stealing that poor Ankylomon's digicore, it was denied Rebirth. That might be why it was so crazy. I just hope that its digicore was set free this time."

"And those repairs are Rebirth Maintenance," Sora said. Tentomon nodded.

"Any pollutants cleaned up by the water filters," he continued, "or any filters for that matter, are broken into their most basic data and then also released into the Rebirth Cycle." Taichi took a moment to consider what Tentomon was saying.

"Sounds like these water filters would be useful for someone like Phantomon," he said, "and going after them'll get Phantomon worrying about us instead of the others."

"And then we go after Phantomon?" Sora asked, sounding like she knew answer. Taichi nodded, and let an edge slip into his voice.

"He's going to pay for what he did to my little buddy." He looked back at Koushiro. "Still out?" That was worrying.

"He's only resting," Sora reminded, "In fact, he was able to find a new digivice function, a telepathic messaging that you really need to learn." _Telepathic messages? So, that's like mental __E__mails? Telepathymails? Telemail?_

"Okay, Tmail me," he said. Sora raised an eyebrow.

"Tmail?"

"I like it," Agumon said. Sora put her hand to her face and shook her head.

"Lay down, first," she commanded, "This is the digivice, so…"

"It's gonna hurt," Taichi finished, gently lying himself back down. "Ready." A fireball exploded in his head. "Gah! I thought it'd be like the DigiScanner!"

**You getting this?**

** Hey, it worked. Now how do I answer this thing? Am I answering it? **

** Taichi.**

** Hello? Hello? Testing one two three? Why is it one two three?**

** Taichi.**

** Why not four five six? And what's with Mayday? What about Marchday or**

_**TAICHI! **_

** Wow, I think my ears felt that one. They're probably ringing now, if that stupid fireball would get out of my head.**

** Do you want me to tell your parents about**

** No! Sora knows far too many ways to end that sentence!**

** You bet I do.**

** Can you stop reading my mind?!**

** Then stop sending me it!**

** What do you mean?!**

** I mean shut up and listen to me! There's a trick to only sending what we want and if you'd shut your mouth for a few seconds I could teach you!**

** But my mouth has been shut the entire time.**

** Arrgh!**

** Pushing Sora's buttons never gets old.**

_**TAICHI!**_

* * *

Leaning against a wall, Yamato surveyed the room Pukamon discovered. It was long and rectangular with a row of beds lined along one side with just enough space for the wooden chairs next to them. On the wall, between every couple beds, was a lit torch, though still no heat. It looked pretty thrown together, but against the other wall were a few stretchers and a couple desks with different medical tools on top. If he had to guess it was a barracks hastily converted into an infirmary.

Looking at one of the beds, his injury reminded him how much pain he was still in. This room was next to the throne room, but that was about as much walking as he could take. "Go on," Pukamon said, "We both know Jou wouldn't let you help carry anyone in your state." Yamato just nodded and gently laid himself down on one of the beds. The mattress had a nice firmness to it.

"Surprised these mattresses are still holding up," he said, "I mean, how old are they?"

"Dunno, but things in the Digital World don't really rot. I'd tell you why, but I'd just confuse both of us." Pukamon looked at the stretchers. "This is gonna be hard. Jou can't take both Mimi and TK."

"I have Gabumon with TK," Yamato reminded, "TK should be small enough for him to carry." When Pukamon came down announcing he'd found a good resting spot, it took some convincing for Gabumon to accept that TK and Mimi needed his protection far more than Yamato.

"I'll go get them," Pukamon said, dragging a stretcher behind. While waiting, Yamato looked around the walls. Not a single window, though he did notice square patches where the stone pattern was visibly different. In fact, it looked like they were at regular intervals, though the dark haze was making it hard to tell. _So they filled in the windows? Why?_ It was kind of depressing. With all this fog like darkness and torches and stone walls, he wanted to see the sky again. And maybe breathe some air that wasn't so old.

**Yamato-kun?** He almost jumped from the message exploding into his head.

**Sora-kun? Is that you?** Hearing her voice, or thoughts, or whatever this was, cheered him up a little. Not to mention helped settle the fears that his last conversation with her was just a back injury induced dream.

** Yeah, I'm just giving you an update. Taichi's up and we'****re**** following the water upstream.** Right. Sora had told him about that burning cold water. **According to Tentomon if we can find what's contaminating the water, it should become drinkable.**

** Tentomon?** **He was Motimon, right?**

** And Yokomon is Piyomon now. Once the water thing is solved, Taichi wants to go after Phantomon and I kind of agree. At least this way Phantomon'll be worrying about us instead of you. **

** That's true. ****On our end, I've told J****ou-****kun**** and the digimon**** about the messaging and that you're all okay.**** We've found a decent spot to rest near the throne room. Some kind of barracks or something, I think. Just me right now, but Pukamon's getting Jou-****kun****. Gabumon's watching TK.**

**Finally awake, sleeping beauty?** Yamato flinched, not from the pain of which he was getting used to, but from the fact despite not hearing anything, he could still feel Yagami's grating voice.

**Go away, Yagami-kun.**

** Relax, Ishida. I just want to remind you TK's brought those extra medicines. We may need them.** Extra… oh! That's right! Whenever TK was visiting Hikari, he always brought the types of medicine she needed whenever she got sick. The reason being that adults always talked about being "worried sick", so he figured that worrying about her medicine would make Hikari sicker. Just another addition to the list of reasons why TK was by far Yamato's favorite relative.

**I'll tell Jou-kun. Now go away.**

** Yeah, sure, but, what the? Sora? What are you**

**He's done and ****I'm back.** Yamato could almost hear Sora's irritation. **He said he had something important to tell you right now, but that look he was getting… I've seen it before.**

** He just reminded ****me**** what kind of stuff TK brought with him.** Hopefully Sora would be satisfied with that. TK wouldn't want him telling anyone about what he was doing for Hikari. Footsteps sounded from outside the room. **Sounds like the others are coming.**

** I'll Tmail you if anything comes up.**

** Tmail?**

** Yeah. Taichi's name for it, which means that's what we're calling it whether we want to or not.**

** How do you put up with him?**

** Hikari.**

** Thought so. Well, I'm gonna see if I can't find some other uses for our digivices, so you can just worry about the water and Phantomon.**

** Thank you, Yamato.** The conversation over, Yamato turned his attention back to the entrance. Just in time too, as Gabumon was making his way in, gently carrying TK on his back with Tsukaimon fluttering behind. Gabumon hopped on to the bed next to Yamato and Tsukaimon pulled TK off. Once Yamato's little brother was set down, Tsukaimon plopped down on the boy's chest and hunkered down. Pukamon floated down on to the foot of the bed and looked at Yamato. "Mind if I rest here? Jou still needs to look after Mimi and apparently I can be distracting." He sounded almost proud.

"TK would be fine with it," Yamato answered, looking at Tsukaimon. The little digimon looked like he'd taken root. Yamato's bed shook slightly as Gabumon hopped over to it. He gave the digimon a smile. "Again, thanks."

"I'm supposed to protect you," Gabumon said, "but you were right. We all have to take care of each other."

"We're all we have," Yamato muttered, "What's even being expected of us?"

"Remember what Tanemon said. We won't make you do anything you don't want. We'll help you find a way back home." Gabumon gave a little shrug. "Also remember, we don't have any memories before meeting you. We're no more attached to this world than you are."

"Yeah." Yamato wasn't really sure how to feel about that, other than his anger towards whoever arranged this whole Chosen Child thing growing even further. "If I ever get my hands on whoever set this up…" He allowed himself to fall silent. The way he was starting to feel would involve words he would never say in front of TK, conscious or not. Probably shouldn't say them in front of Mimi either.

"Do you think you're up to contacting the others? You know, to let them we're doing okay?" After being contacted the first time, Yamato made sure to fill in Jou and the digimon about the messaging.

"Sora-kun contacted me again. They're doing okay now and-"

"Excuse me, Yamato-san?" Jou asked. Mimi had been set down on the bed on Yamato's other side, the poor girl whimpering with each breath she took. "You wouldn't happen to have a water canteen or something, would you? Mine's getting empty." He held up a decently sized canteen.

"Sorry, I didn't realize we'd be traveling today." Yamato apologized, "Sora-kun, Koushiro-kun, and Yagami-kun are working on our water problem." Jou didn't look happy with Yamato's answer. "That reminds me. TK should have some extra medicines in his backpack." Jou's face brightened.

"Wow! Prepared at his age?! That's impressive!" _Not half as impressive as the real reason, _Yamato thought with a slight smile.

"How are you feeling?" Tanemon asked from next to Mimi.

"My back is killing me, but fine otherwise. How's Mimi-san?"

"Really hurting," tears began to form in Tanemon's eyes, "I couldn't protect her at all."

"Stop," Mimi both wheezed and sobbed, "My fault… Should have…"

"It's Phantomon's fault," Yamato added an edge to his voice, "It was because of him that monster attacked us."

"Stop talking," Jou ordered, "Broken ribs are dangerous. You don't want to make them worse."

A thought struck Yamato. "I've been wondering, are there many human sized digimon?"

"A few," Gabumon answered, "but we come in all kinds of shapes and sizes. Why do you ask?"

"Well for one thing, this room is seems very human-centric."

"Nah, it's for us runtymon," Pukamon said, "I mean, who wouldn't love a giant bed?"

"And then there's the things you know about us. Are there humans in the Digital World?" The room fell silent for a moment.

"I'm not sure," Gabumon answered at last, "but I do know we've had contact with your world before. It was a very long time ago, though."

"Okay, I'm gonna ask it so Jou won't have to," Pukamon spoke up, "What will we do of Phantomon decides to visit?" The question was rewarded with a growl from Tsukaimon.

"Yagami-kun thinks Phantomon's going to be more interested in them than us," Yamato answered, "I mean, he's pretty much beaten us as it is. And while they're keeping him busy, I'm going to play with my digivice. There's gotta be more than the messaging-"

"Tmail!" Pukamon chirped. Yamato sighed.

"Ugh. Yes. Tmail. That and the DigiScanner. There has to be more." _Maybe something that will let me do more than stand and watch._

* * *

Following the water upstream, Taichi made sure to pace himself so Sora and Koushiro could keep up. Koushiro, who wasn't in as good as shape as Taichi in first place, still hadn't fully recovered from activating his digivice and he was carrying that laptop with him. Sora could've kept up with Taichi but she wanted to stay back in case Koushiro needed extra protection. **How's Koushiro doing back there?** he Tmailed her.

**Not bad, though he's looking pretty tired. Really wish he'd let me carry his laptop.** With how dry their throats were getting, Tmail was worth the brief burning headaches.

**Wish we could chance letting him rest longer.** In all honesty, Taichi wanted to stop and rest too, but that would just let Phantomon come after them again. Besides, resting down here wouldn't do much good. **I'm so glad Hikari couldn't come.**

**You're right. This place would have been too much for her. It's almost too much for me.** He had to agree. The heatless torches lining these corridors, the rancid smelling "water", and that haze-like darkness were just demoralizing. But even worse than that were the horrifying murals, some of them featuring that shadow, others showing chimera-like monsters, and some seeming to show what Taichi swore were robots, but what they all had in common was the sickening violence, the detailed slaughter, and it was just too much for him. But more than that was the absolute malevolence that practically bled off each image. He could almost hear the carvers gleefully cackling over the atrocities they were capturing. **This place… its evil.**

**I know.** Stepping through another doorway, Taichi found himself on a large platform surrounded by the black water. The walls on the left and right had three floodgates. Up ahead was a slope leading to another doorway and a waterfall on both sides. Looking back, he could see a floodgate on either side of the entrance. He directed a message to Koushiro. **Is this some kind sluice?**

**I believe so. It looks as if the source of the water is just ahead. At least I hope so.** Taichi turned his attention to the center of the platform. Five statues of ghosts were facing the entrance. "We better be on guard," he announced. He scanned the ghosts, called Bakemon, and the image showed a typical white sheet ghost with very sharp looking teeth and red eyes. Underneath their sheets they had a physical shadow they could shape any way they wanted and they were capable of… death curses? Uh, oh. No, wait, it also stated that an active digivice would nullify the curses.

**I just found something useful.** Taichi jumped at the sudden Tmail. It came from Ishida, so it was probably about the digivices.

**At least you'r****e**** good for something.**

** Cram it, Yagami-kun. Anyways, the digivices seem to have things called Elemental Cores. Gabumon says they feel kind of like the source of his ice power and they seem to be able to change how his power****s**** work.**

**That actually does sound useful.** A shadowy mass suddenly began to form in the platform's center. **Hang on, something's happening here.** He spared a quick glance at Sora and Koushiro to make sure they were seeing it too. Koushiro was looking at it, Sora looking at Taichi. She gave a nod acknowledging she was noticing it too and faced the mass. He found himself holding his breath as it began rising like a geyser and taking on a shape at the top. **Phantomon's here! Gotta go!**

Fully formed, Phantomon let out a menacing laugh and held out a hand. Five digicores were hovering just above his grasp. Taichi knew exactly where this was going. "Ready for some ghost busting?" he asked Agumon.

"I'd rather do some ghost burning," Agumon answered, a lick flame shooting out of his mouth. The five digicores bolted from Phantomon's hand, each into a Bakemon and the five ghosts took off into the air.

Two immediately swooped down, pitch black clawed hands poking out of their robes. Agumon's flames slashed into them, but other than wobbling a little, the ghosts were unfazed. Taichi clenched his teeth and dove forward and the ghosts shot right overhead. _Okay! Element Cores!_ He mentally told the digivice to give him the Element Cores and his head began to throb as different elements began flashing through his head. Pyro. Cryo. Hydro. _Slow down! I can't think that fast! __And why the moon language?!_

Stars appeared in his eyes as pain exploded in the back of his head. He went down face first and managed to force himself to roll to his back. _One good thing about the digivice? It's getting me used to pain._ His vision started to clear and he saw a Bakemon with a pitch black mallet in place of a hand. Fireballs began pelting the spirit and it immediately charged at Agumon with a swing. The dinosaur leapt back, slashing at the mallet with his claws, deflecting himself from the swing.

Sora's shriek cut into his ears followed by Phantomon's laughter. He immediately looked and saw her on a knee, nursing a bleeding leg and three Bakemon with spear tips flying away with Piyomon and Tentomon throwing burning whirlwinds and electric shocks at them with little effect. Koushiro was right behind Sora looking completely lost as to what to do. A Bakemon with a scythe blade emerged from the floor behind him and Taichi almost cried out, but Sora seemed to noticed and yanked the boy down with the blade passing just overhead.

_That's it! Element Core time!_ The three Bakemon with the spears touched their weapons together and began spinning like a propeller. _Crap! No time! __Just pick one!_ He told the digivice to give Agumon a Pyro Element Core. Agumon took on a red glow for a few seconds.

"I-I feel stronger!" he said. He spit his flames at the Bakemon propeller, but this time they were blue and came out with a _roar_. The flames wrapped around the propeller and the Bakemon disappeared in a spray small, white particles.

"You weren't kidding," Taichi said. Three Bakemon down in one shot? So much for Phantomon's little ambush. _Now I just have to tell-_ Phantomon's laughter interrupted his thoughts. _What's so funny?! Agumon just incinerated your lackeys!_ The larger ghost held out his hand and the particles gathered around and reassembled into the Bakemon. _Are you kidding me?! That's not fair!_

A Bakemon suddenly popped out of the ground in front of him with a sword poking out of its sheet. Taichi was so startled he could only watch helplessly as the blade came down on his head, but Agumon's claws met it, and a couple blue fireballs finished off the ghost. _Yeah, we definitely need the Element Cores._ He looked at Sora and Koushiro, about to Tmail them, but he saw two Bakemon with chains dragging Koushiro up by the neck. Sora was pulling him back down while Piyomon and Tentomon fired at the Bakemon. _C__rap, these guys work fast!_

Okay, he hated to admit it, but the Element Cores weren't enough. Maybe Ishida had some other ideas? **Element Cores are good but we need something bigger! Phantomon can bring his minions back to life!** The seconds until a response felt like hours. He needed an answer before the Bakemon went after him again.

**Alright then. I'd hoped Element Cores would be enough since I'm not sure about the other two. But if you want big, try evolution. Like when Koromon became Agumon, you might be able to try it again, but I haven't tested it. At all.**

** Consider this the field test.** He looked at Agumon who was spitting fireballs at three Bakemon who seemed to be covering the two who's chains were still around Koushiro's neck with Sora still pulling at it. Piyomon and Tentomon were still blasting at the two Bakemon but their attacks still weren't getting anywhere._They're just toying with us,_ Taichi angrily thought as the ghosts weaved around Agumon's least since they were dodging they weren't attacking, but on the other hand, that meant Agumon wasn't able to help Sora save Koushiro. _Okay, digivice. We need the big guns._ He commanded the digivice to empower Agumon like it did Koromon.

He nearly screamed as he could feel flames bursting out of his body, but clamped his mouth shut. He's been enduring everything else the digivice's thrown his way, this wouldn't be any different. The flames began reaching towards Agumon and suddenly the little dinosaur began glowing. And growing. And growing. The flames began to fade and Taichi felt his pulse race as Agumon came back into view. The little dinosaur wasn't exactly little anymore, claws and teeth included. He now donned some sort of horned mask over his face and his still orange body now bore blue stripes. The DigiScanner called him Greymon. Greymon had the same fire power that Agumon had, only exponentially stronger. And his claws and horns could slice through steel as if it were butter. And then the DigiScanner added a note stating that Greymon was still under the power of the Pyro Core.

Taichi stared at his partner in silence. That gentle, playful look in Agumon's eyes were nowhere to be seen in Greymon's. Instead all he could see was a feral rage building._ Stop that! It's still Agumon! And __he __even said that he still felt more like Koromon! Greymon won't be that different!_Blue flames began pouring out of Greymon's mouth as he reared back, and then he spewed a massive blue fireball with a _bang_. The fireball went right through the three Bakemon and carried on, just barely hitting the two Bakemon choking Koushiro. Barely hit or not, all five Bakemon were reduced to particles. Koushiro was on his knees, breathing heavily, with Sora near him. No sign of Greymon's fireball touching him.

Taichi looked back up at Phantomon who was already holding his hand out and the particles were starting to float back down. _Like it'll make a difference!_ Greymon would just blast the Bakemon out of existence again. But Greymon had other ideas, and a blue fiery stream lanced right at Phantomon. The ghost faded away as the flames reached him and the Bakemon particles once again spread into the air.

"Great going, Greymon!" Taichi called out. The large dinosaur turned around and looked at him with a growl. "Uh, Greymon?" Greymon reared back, flames starting to spark out of his mouth. "Greymon!" He called out, "It's me! Stop! Agumon! Koromon! Whoever you are! It's me!" Greymon's eyes widened and lit up slightly.

"T-Taichi?! I-I'm so sorry! I almost lost myself!" the dinosaur apologized, "Please turn me back!"

"Uh, right!" He ordered the digivice to turn Greymon back to Agumon. He felt the flames jump back into his body as the dinosaur shrank back down, though they weren't nearly as bad as coming out. "You better?"

"Yeah. Again, I'm really sorry," Agumon looked away, "My Greymon instincts were too strong. If you didn't remind me who I was…" Taichi patted him on the head.

"It's okay. You stopped in time and it's not like we have a manual or anything," he assured the digimon, "Now let's check on the others."

Sora looked okay, she'd torn off part of the bottom of her shirt to bandage her leg. "I'll be fine," she said, "I've played on worse." That was true. He recalled more than one occasion of her limping across a soccer field and still having to be dragged off by the school nurse. Her voice dropped to a whisper. "I'm not sure about Koushiro-kun, though."

She was right. Koushiro was sitting on the ground, hunched over, and breathing very heavily. Tentomon fluttered up in front of Taichi. "Is it okay of Koushiro-han rests for now?" Koushiro looked up, Taichi almost flinched at the haunted expression.

"No, Tentomon," he panted, "We… We can't stop-"

"Yes we can," Taichi interrupted, "Those Bakemon aren't coming back. I don't think Phantomon's ready for Greymon. And besides, Ishida's found some new powers with the digivice we need to get used to. That reminds me. Hang on." **Evolution did the trick, but don't just spring it on Gabumon.**

** Well, obviously.**

** And make sure you do it in an open area. He'll get big. Now, about the other thing you found.**

** Yeah, that. They were actually the first thing I found but they're something we'll need a chance to practice with. They're weapons. A CoreSaber and a CoreBlaster.** Weapons? He felt his mouth stretch into a grin.

** Weapons?!**

** Let the digivice know you need to fight at Agumon's side.**

"Taichi?" Sora interrupted, "Are you talking to Yamato-kun?" Taichi nodded.

"He just told me something interesting." He focused on telling the digivice he needed to fight at Agumon's side, which wasn't hard. All he had to do was think of easily the Bakemon got at him despite Agumon's protection. And how he would feel if Agumon gut hurt and all he did was watch. It started feeling like his arm bones were trying free themselves. Then he felt an object appear in each of his hands.

In his right hand he found a single edged blade that seemed a little more like a knife or dagger than a saber. The guard and edge were red. The blade's flat end and hilt were white. In his left hand was a gun. The handle and bottom half of the nozzle were white, the rest was red. He pointed it towards the water and squeezed the trigger, a red bolt fired out, splashing into the water. He looked at Sora, feeling the smile on his lips. "I have a ray gun."

"But fighting's our job," Agumon said.

"If we can't protect ourselves, we'll just get in the way," Sora said, though the look in her eyes said what Taichi was feeling.

_No way we're just standing and watching._ "Anyways, we got some new tricks with the digivices. I say we don't go any further until we've gotten the hang of them."

* * *

Afterword: Well, my M rating got justified nice and fast. This is actually about as graphic as I'll be with nudity. I don't do explicit.

I know green is usually used for wind, but I wanted to save that for Mimi. Otherwise she'd be stuck with brown and I can't do that to her.

The CoreBlaster and CoreSaber are because I want the children to be more active in the fights but I'm tired of Biomerging. Besides, this lets them be real partners instead of just glorified batteries.


	6. First Day 05

Foreword: Another long one. I really prefer not to have my chapters this long but I couldn't find a good breaking spot.

* * *

Small or not, the CoreSaber was very easy to swing. Taichi had never studied swordsmanship, outside mimicking the television, but he wasn't completely inexperienced. One difficulty with knowing Sora so well was that he knew how to hurt her. There were things he could say that would devastate her, things he could never take back, and she could probably do the same to him. No, she definitely could. So whenever they fought, it was always with the knowledge how easily they could "win" at the cost of irreparable damage to their friendship. As a result, he and Sora tended to settle things physically instead; girl or not, Sora could take a punch.

Adults, of course, were absolutely _horrified_ that he would hit a girl so willingly. What a thug he was. Just because she's hitting him doesn't make it okay to hit back (Sora had a few unladylike things to say about that one). What kind of example is he setting for Hikari? _As if Hikari's dumb enough to follow my example on anything._ So whenever the adults started to get annoying, he and Sora would "compromise". Instead of just hitting each other, they would find a couple sticks and duel. The adults hated that even more but that just made it even more fun.

Looking at the blade, Taichi held no delusions about his skill. He knew he was just good enough to not cut himself but that was still better than his aim with the CoreBlaster. He really going to have to practice with that… away from everyone else. Far far away. But at least with the CoreSaber he wouldn't be completely helpless. Sora and Koushiro had the same weapons, though Sora's had a gray coloring instead of red and Koushiro's were yellow.

Things were going well with the evolutions too. Probably because they weren't in battle, but Agumon gained control over his Greymon form very quickly and Piyomon and Tentomon had similar success with their Birdramon and Kabuterimon forms. Birdramon was a giant bird who's feathers were made of fire, though the flames only burned who she wanted them to. Taichi, along with Sora and Koushiro, could touch her and only find her pleasantly warm. Her powers were the same as Piyomon's but her winds were so hot, they actually ignited. Kabuterimon was a giant, blue, nightmarish looking beetle capable of firing powerful electric bursts. While his shell was strong like a beetle's, he also had the proportional strength of an ant. According to Koushiro that meant Kabuterimon was very strong and Taichi chose to take his word for it.

Along with Sora and Koushiro, he had also started looking at the Element Cores, though he didn't bother giving Agumon a new one. The Pyro Core still had a few hours left, but it looked like he wouldn't be able to use it again until at least twenty four hours after it either ran out of power or was replaced. The elements in total were Pyro, Cryo, Hydro, Aero, Geo, Electro, Astro, and Photo, and thanks to Koushiro, Taichi knew what actually were. By choosing Pyro, he'd doubled up on Agumon's natural element of fire and it worked so well, Sora gave Piyomon Aero, and Koushiro gave Tentomon Electro. It looked like the Cores could be used on the weapons too, though none of the children felt safe attempting it.

Now Taichi was at the top of the stairs, leading into the blackness beyond. Even standing close to it, he could feel the heat from his body drain. Every instinct he had told him this room was going to be dangerous. He looked at Agumon who was standing next to him. "Are you sure you can handle evolving again?"

"I'm sure I can handle one more," Agumon answered, "Helps that I really didn't do anything the second time."

"And Tentomon and I only evolved once," Piyomon piped up behind him, "so we're ready too."

"Let's just get this over with," Koushiro said, "We have to press whatever advantage we have against Phantomon."

"Let's go, then." Taichi took a deep breath and stepped into the darkness, feeling the black void swallow him with that soul-piercing cold. He instinctively stepped back through the doorway, but he was still in the void. In fact, he couldn't even see the doorway. Or the others. "Um, guys?! Sora?! Agumon?!"

Phantomon's laughter rang through the void. The darkness began shaping and formed into clouds and Taichi found himself hovering over a burnt wasteland. Forests that looked more like charcoal, barren mountains, and devastated villages passed by underneath, scattered embers filling the air. He fell to his knees on the stone-like air carrying him up, the smell of burning wood and meat nearly overwhelming him. Then he started noticing the bodies. Creatures of all kinds of shapes and sizes, burned and mutilated, looking as if they were experiencing sheer agony in their last moments.

He started to stand back up, resisting his urge to run. Not like he had anywhere to run to. This apocalyptic wasteland stretched on forever. Was this what was waiting outside the palace? Why were he and the others even brought here? The Digital World was clearly beyond saving.

"Taichi!" Sora's voice sounded. He looked around and saw her and Koushiro next to him, both looking as sick as he felt. Actually, Koushiro looked even worse. But where did they come from? And when did they show up? _Who cares?! _Just having them nearby made him feel a little better.

"What happened?!" he asked.

"I don't know!" she sounded frantic, "I followed you, and then I was alone! And now we're here!"

"I tried Tmailing both you," Koushiro said, "but I kept getting error messages." Phantomon's laughter sounded again. A blackness began washing over the land and reached up in front of the children, shaping itself into Phantomon. "We should scan him!" Koushiro spoke up.

That's right! Taichi never got past his name when he tried before! _Let's see._ Phantomon was… the Digital World's supreme demon lord. He was the one who struck down the Harmonius Ones and the Royal Knights before unleashing his wrath on the Digital World itself, leaving a scar that would never heal. And when his seal breaks, it will be the end of not only what little of the Digital World remained, but of any world connected.

The blood left Taichi's head. Phantomon was that powerful?! "This is a dream," Koushiro muttered, "I'm dreaming. This is too illogical. This has to be a dream." Sora looked at Taichi, her eyes filled with terror. _Okay, Taichi. Think! Big bad guy here! He'll threaten Earth! That means Hikari… Hikari!_ With a surge of courage at the thought of that demon anywhere his sister, Taichi pointed his CoreBlaster at Phantomon.

"Shoot him until he dies!" His crimson bolts flashed right through Phantomon's body. Sora's and Koushiro's followed just as ineffective. Phantomon simply laughed again and a bright light appeared in front. A figure began to emerge from the light, Taichi pointed his CoreBlaster but held fire, wanting to size up the new danger first.

The "new danger" horrified Taichi more than he could imagine. It was a small girl in a pale yellow sleeveless shirt and pink pants. She looked around, confusion and fear all over her face. "Onii-san?!" she spoke, looking at him, "Where am I?! I'm scared!"

"Hikari!" he and Sora shouted at the same time. He started running towards her. She turned around and screamed at Phantomon's sight.

"We're coming, Hika!" Sora cried out, "Just run away from him!"

"We'll save you!" Taichi added. Phantomon raised his scythe as Hikari turned and started to run. Time slowed down as the blade inserted itself into his little sister's head, disintegrating it in a red spray. Taichi stopped, unable to breathe, seeing her headless body slump over.

"_YOU BASTARD!_" Sora shrieked and the sound of her blaster filled the air, though Taichi barely noticed. Dropping his weapons, he staggered to over Hikari's body, trying to find some sign it was just a trick. Some sign she was still okay. He remembered how cruel he was to her in the first few years of her life and how she forgave him each time. The polite yet happy greeting she would give him whenever he stepped in the apartment. How on the many times he embarrassed himself, she would say something to make him feel like a superhero.

His parents often said he took such good care of her, but it was the opposite. She was the one watching over him. Any time he had some sort of moral choice, or was tempted to do something wrong, all he had to do was think of her. What would she think if she knew what he did? It never failed to set him straight. _All I did was fight off a few bullies. She protected me from myself._ And now… when she truly needed him, he failed.

Something splashed against his cheek. He casually wiped it away. Blood. He looked around and saw Sora had been diagonally bisected. And now Phantomon was coming for him, scythe dripping with the blood of first and second most important people in the world to him. Whatever. Phantomon won. Earth was doomed. But a world without Hikari didn't even seem worth saving. He was almost relieved when Phantomon's blade came down on him.

* * *

Yamato's eyes snapped open. Was he sleeping? Making those digivice discoveries really took a lot out of him but he shouldn't be sleeping now. Once Jou finally accepted that he'd done everything he possibly could, he went to the bed next to Mimi and had the fainting spell he was holding off. Yamato had to admit he was pretty impressed with the older boy but it also meant that keeping watch fell to him now. Well, him and the digimon, but he was not making them do everything. He gave a quick look to each of the digimon. Pukamon was at the foot of Jou's bed with his eyes closed, but clearly awake and enjoying the bed. Tanemon was right next to Mimi, her eyes closed too, but nowhere near as relaxed. Gabumon was sitting at the foot of Yamato's bed, and Yamato could tell he was wide awake. And Tsukaimon was sleeping on TK's chest and twitching like he was having a dream. Yamato almost felt sorry Mimi's sleeping through this; no doubt she'd love the sight and he almost expected the little digimon to start yipping.

"D-Danger," Tsukaimon muttered, catching his full attention, "Th-The shadows… they lie… D-Don't listen… danger…" The shadows? Yamato looked around. It was hard to tell what was a shadow and what wasn't in this darkness. "Need help… Must help…" The little digimon began giving off a powerful glow and Yamato felt a gentle warmth wash over him, dulling the pain in his back and burning away the oppressive chill.

"Taichi… Sora… Koushiro…" the little digimon continued, his fur taking on an orange tint, "Don't believe the lies… You… are… stronger… than Phantomon!" Yamato could only watch in silence as the glow became a bright golden light and then a beam firing straight up through the ceiling. His eyes strained back down to Tsukaimon and it looked like the glow wasn't even. It seemed to originate from Tsukaimon's head, no, a little lower… _TK's _ He sat straight up, ignoring the surprisingly bearable pain, and took a good look. It was hard to see, but it looked like the light was really originating from TK's heart.

"Yamato," Gabumon's voice was filled with awe, "what's going on with Tsukaimon?"

"I don't know," he answered, "but I'm starting to think Phantomon didn't go after TK first by chance."

* * *

Taichi numbly stumbled through the cavern walls barely aware of Sora following in silence. Barred doors lined the sides, the sounds of agonized screams and inhuman laughter filling the sulfurous air. It was hot enough to be a desert, yet a freezing wind was blowing through. He had a good idea where he was now. Hell. Right where he deserved to be for letting Phantomon kill Hikari. As he walked, he passed different torture devices: racks, pendulums, and others he didn't even want to know, each with a mangled body reaching out to him. He couldn't help them. He couldn't help anyone.

"Onii-san?" a soft caught his attention. He started looking around. The voice was familiar but… it couldn't be. Hikari would never be here. "Onii-san?" _No… No… She's not here._ He tried to ignore it. It had to be a trick. "Onii-san," this time the voice sobbed. Without thinking Taichi looked for the source and nearly screamed when he saw it. Up against a wall, there was Hikari, but her head, arms, hands, legs, and feet were torn off, connected only by bloody chains and her clothes were completely shredded. Tears were running down her face. "It hurts, Onii-san. It hurts."

"Hikari… I… I," he didn't know what to say. He didn't just let Phantomon kill her, she had to be sent here too?! He didn't even notice the tears streaming down his face.

"Hika…" Sora whispered and then she started to cry, "I'm so sorry, Hika! I'm so sorry!"

"Wh-When the gh-ghost hurt me," Hikari sobbed, "I was s-sent to th-this scary place. Th-The monsters here wrecked my clothes a-and t-touched me in b-bad ways. I-I begged them t-to stop, but th-they laughed a-and said I w-was th-their toy now. Th-then they b-beat me up. Th-They said I-I'm gonna be here for-forever! Please help me, Onii-san! Sora-san! Please!"

Taichi started to reach for her but stopped. What could he do? He looked around for something he could… well, he didn't know. But he had to do something! He suddenly became aware of shadowy figures surrounding the trio. He couldn't really make them out but he could feel their malevolence. "Go on, Onii-san," their voices hissed with laughter, "Save little Hika-chan! Hikari needs her Onii-san!"

"Shut up!" he shouted, but the voices only laughed.

"Please go away!" Hikari sobbed, "Whatever I did I'm sorry already! Please!"

"But you pleasured us so much before!" the demons responded. Hearing that started to cause a fury to build up inside Taichi, but it quickly gave away to despair. There was nothing he could do to protect her.

"Let her go," he tried, "I'll stay her forever if you release her."

"Foolish boy," the demons laughed, "She is to pleasure us in ways you can not."

"Then take me!" Sora said, "I'm a girl too and I'm older! I'm sure you'll enjoy me more than her!" Taichi was partially surprised at Sora's sacrifice, but not much. He knew she loved Hikari as much as he did. But the demons merely laughed.

"You already are here forever! You have nothing to offer, but you will pleasure us! In fact, maybe we'll have you pleasure each other to entertain us! We can add the boy in too! Since he loves his little sister so much, he'll prove it to us over and over!" Taichi wanted to say something. Something brave. Something reassuring. But any response was crushed under the despair, the thoughts of the eternal nightmare they were condemned to filling his mind. The things his pure and innocent little sister was going to be subjected to and the knowledge that there was nothing he or Sora could do to stop it.

"Do not be deceived by the Shadows!" a powerful voice roared. Within the mess of evil, a golden outline appeared. It looked human… no, it had wings. It looked like an angel with a helmet and staff, though the figure was hard to make out. "Think of shadow puppets," the figure continued, "They are never what they appear to be. So true for these wicked Shadows. They block the Light, feeding from it, strengthening their lies! But there is one Light they cannot block!" He held out a hand and tiny golden spark hovered above it. "Hope, the Light that illuminates the unseen possibilities! The Light of Hope will pierce even the darkest Shadow!" The tiny spark suddenly gave off a blinding flash.

"Taichi…" a faint voice sounded, "Taichi… Taichi…" He became aware of a tugging on his arm. "Taichi!"

_Agumon!_ His eyes opened.

"Sora!"

"Koushiro-han!" Piyomon and Tentomon were here too! He suddenly realized how stiff he felt, like he was standing perfectly still for too long. He looked around and immediately saw that Sora and Koushiro were with him, also standing still. And it looked like they were standing in a big doorway… _like the one we went through!_ The angel's words about the shadows deceiving him ran through his head.

"Taichi!" Agumon cut off his train of thought, "Wake up, Taichi!"

"I'm here," he said, looking at his partner. A pang of guilt shot through when he saw how worried Agumon looked. "I-I'm better now… I think."

"You were acting like statues," Tentomon said.

"Phantomon did something to us," Sora said, "but we were… saved?" Even Koushiro looked confused.

"It-It must have been an illusion," the redhead said, not sounding certain at all. Taichi couldn't blame him, seeing what happened to Hikari- A thought struck him. Fear began bubbling into his stomach as he remembered Koushiro wasn't there with him or Sora. Which could only be because while he and Sora both loved Hikari so much, Koushiro didn't even know her. That could only mean one thing, but if Taichi was wrong…

_No! I have to ask! Hope, just like the angel said!_ "Koushiro, I'm sorry but I have to ask you something important," he started. Koushiro looked at him, a trace of fear in the other boy's eyes. "When Phantomon did his summoning or whatever you saw him do, what did you see him do?" The haunted look on Koushiro's face immediately made him regret asking. "Oh, crap, I'm sorry! I-I didn't mean to-"

"What Taichi's asking," Sora cut in, "is if you saw a little girl with short brown hair?" Koushiro looked away.

"N-No, I- I'm sorry, I-" he started but Taichi cut him off.

"You didn't see her," he said, relief washing over, "You really didn't see her. And I'll bet you didn't see us either." Koushiro's eyes widened as he looked at Taichi again.

"No…. I didn't see either or you."

"But you were standing right here," Agumon interrupted.

"Phantomon put us in an illusion," Sora said, "Just an illusion. None of it was real." _Hikari's still safe,_ Taichi told himself as the relief nearly caused his legs to give out. _She's still safe. She's still safe. Phantomon didn't touch her. She's still safe._ He tried to focus on chasing that nightmare out of his memory. He could still hear her pleading him for help. The demons taunting and laughing. _It was fake! It never happened!_

He turned his attention forward through the doorway, trying to get his mind on something else. _Like kicking Phantomon's ass!_ The room was circular with a large pool of the black water in the center. In the center of the pool was a raised square platform with a dark purple dome on top of it. Along the front was row of pipes the water was pouring out of. He could see two black tentacles connected to the front left and right of the dome and traveled along the ground, through the water, and up the room's outer edge, all the way to the ceiling. Looking closely, the left and right rear had the tentacles too and a fifth going up the center of the room's rear.

He couldn't help but feel something was odd about the room. Something other than the creepy dome and tentacles. "Would that dome be the filter?" Koushiro asked.

"Yes," Tentomon answered, "though I don't know what's with the tentacles. Other than blatant disregard for health codes."

"Wait a minute," Sora said, "The darkness is gone!" That's it! That's what felt odd!

"And the torches feel warm!" Taichi added.

"Phantomon's coming!" Piyomon shouted. Taichi's eyes immediately fell on the dome, which now had a black mass rising from it, shaping into Phantomon. His heart began racing as the all-too-familiar laughter rang out. _No… You're not fooling me again._ He immediately activated the DigiScanner. _Let's see what it really says about you._ Phantomon was a ghost digimon. Very powerful death curses, but not too powerful for the digivice. He could channel darkness through his scythe and chain controlling them as an extension of his body.

As Taichi read description, his fear melted away to a smoldering rage. He began trembling as he clenched his fists and glared at the "supreme demon lord". "A Bakemon," he growled, "You're just a _damn Bakemon_ with a _can opener!_" He barely felt the wetness dripping down his fingers as he tightened his fists, or the angry tears streaming down his face. "_Do you have any idea what you put me through?!_"

"I don't know what he did, but I'll make him pay!" Agumon roared. Taichi ran a few meters away from Sora; enough for Agumon and Piyomon to evolve without bumping into each other. Koushiro did the same on the opposite side. Once far enough, he sent Agumon the evolution command, Piyomon and Tentomon evolving right afterwards.

Phantomon threw his hands and a wave of darkness washed over with all-too familiar cold. He could almost feel his life force get sucked dry, but his digivice lit up and the darkness lost its grip. It cleared and three objects were hovering above the ghost. _Those look like… __d__igi__c__ores? Oh, no!_ He looked at Greymon. The dinosaur was just an Agumon statue now, along with Birdramon and Kabuterimon as Piyomon and Tentomon statues. He glared at Phantomon, his anger exploding again. "You bastard!"

Plan B then. Element Cores. He took the Photo Core and applied it to the CoreSaber; he had a good feeling about that Core. The blade lengthened and glowed with a white light and multicolored aura. Now for the CoreBlaster. Somehow, he suspected his lousy aim had nothing to do with the illusion, but given how big Phantomon was, he'd surely hit something. But what Core? Photo was in use, and so was Pyro was still active, that fact somehow giving him hope the digimon could be saved. Electro then. Electricity gave light, so maybe it would do something. He aimed the gun and fired. Instead of the red bolts, blue energy spheres emerged, exploding against Phantomon with electric bursts. Unfortunately, they didn't seem to have much effect, if any.

Phantomon immediately turned to face him and he started distancing him from Agumon. "Taichi! Wait!" he heard Sora call but he ignored her. He was going to kill Phantomon with his bare hands if he had to. Phantomon leaned over and Taichi found himself staring into the ghost's lifeless eyes. Black tendrils shout of his face and Taichi swung his blade, slicing through Phantomon's face. Phantomon reared back with a roar and Taichi started firing again.

With a roar, Phantomon raised his scythe and swept it across the ledge. Taichi threw himself to the ground, and a few hairs fluttered down in front of his eyes. _Didn't even feel it pass!_ He scrambled back up and threw himself backwards, the blade just passing by again. Then Phantomon raised it straight up and swung down. Taichi dove forward, the blade embedding itself into the ground behind him, and fired on Phantomon's face with little effect.

Phantomon leaned towards Taichi again, flames starting to pop out of where his face should be. Taichi gave a shout and thrust the Saber forward. Phantomon reared back, clutching his face. Cracks appeared on his body and he exploded with a flash of light, the scythe disappearing along with him. _Is that it?_ No, the digicores were still floating around. The real Phantomon was probably inside that dome. Taichi scanned the room for Sora and Koushiro. They were at one of the tentacles and Sora also had her Saber powered with the Photo Core.

Phantomon reemerged from the dome, laughing. _Laugh it up, ragface._ He looked at Taichi and began twirling his chain. _Aw, crap! _Phantomon suddenly roared and looked over at Sora and Koushiro.

**The tentacles!** Sora Tmailed him, **Go for the tentacles! Koushiro thinks they're the source of Phantomon's magic!** Taichi immediately turned his attention to the nearest black tentacle and quickly sprinted over to it. Wasting no time, he swung the blade down. The tentacle resisted, his weapon nearly bouncing off, but dropped his gun and pushed with both hands. The blade went through and the two tentacle halves began burning away as if they were a lit fuse.

Phantomon roared again, this time looking in Taichi's direction. _That's right. You focus on me, Sora and Koushiro will move. You go for them, I move. You threaten our partners, we move. You lose._ Phantomon lowered his scythe but raised a chain connected to the hilt revealing the metal sphere on the end of it. Taichi Tmailed a warning to both Sora and Koushiro. **He's using his chain! I'll keep his attention on me!** He grabbed his gun and fired.

Phantomon began twirling the chain and then swung it along the ledge on Taichi's side, starting from the rear. _Even if I dodge, it'll hit __Agumon__! Okay, experiment time!_ He dropped his gun again and held the blade with both hands, waiting for the chain to reach him. As it did, he dove forward, making sure to point the blade upwards. The blade almost shot out of his hands, but he kept his grip as tight as possible as he heard the chain whip around just above his head, feeling the wind as the ball whizzed by, getting closer and closer.

Then he heard something hit stone and the chain relaxed. Noticing his eyes were closed, he opened them and released the breath he didn't know he was holding as he saw the chain dangling over the edge. Now he just had to unravel the blade- It was suddenly yanked out of his hands. He watched helplessly as it fell into the water below as Phantomon reclaimed his chain. _It's okay. Don't panic. We tested this and I can send it back to the digivice. Or it'll go too far and send itself back. Either way, I can then resummon it._ He looked at Phantomon who was looking down on him. _Assuming he gives me enough time._

Fireballs pelted Phantomon's form. A quick glance showed it was Sora shooting them but they weren't working any better than Taichi's Electro shots. _Guess __Photo's__ the only thing that works._ A black mass with a big mouth on the end shot out of Phantomon's hood. Taichi dove out of the way as it bit into the ground. Tendrils branched off of it, all reaching for him. Before he could even begin to stand, they latched on to his limbs with freezing bites and lifted him into the air. He found himself staring into Phantomon's hood. A single, glowing red eye began to appear. Then teeth started appearing along the top and bottom and the eye began looking more like a mouth. It was pretty frightening to be staring into, but whatever fear he was feeling paled in comparison to his hate for this creature. He spit right into the red eye/mouth.

Phantomon's body suddenly shook as black spots appeared on his body. No, wait, they were fired by Koushiro. Given they didn't look like wind, or ice, or rock, or whatever, they probably came from the Astro Core, not that they were working any better than anything else. Then Sora threw her Saber and it suddenly curved towards Phantomon's body, or rather the dark spots on him. It lanced right through one and the tendrils holding Taichi were gone. He fell back on to the ledge as Phantomon reared back and exploded again. **The Astr****o**** Core seems to have power over gravity,** Koushiro Tmailed, **Now I recommend recalling your weapon.**

** Uh, right! And thanks!** He resummoned the blade, still powered by the Photo Core thankfully, and threw himself towards the next tentacle while recalling his gun. Upon reaching it, he quickly hacked through it while glancing at the dome. _Too much to hope I have time for the last tentacle?_

His question was answered a second later when a shadowy mass came rocketing out of the dome towards him. It shaped itself into a normal sized pitch black Phantomon, scythe raised. He reflexively moved the PhotoSaber to deflect the blow and found himself stepping back as the shadow Phantomon's weapon pushed against his. Gritting his teeth, he pushed back his hardest, stopping the ghost's advance. A small voice spoke from Phantomon's hood. "Onii-san! Help me!"

_Hikari!_ The memories of that illusion flashed through his mind, causing him to go numb. Hikari, innocent Hikari, being sent to Hell just to hurt him. Her agonized pleas for help he couldn't give while the demons laughed and taunted him. The numbness in his body began giving away to an icy chill. Other memories flashed through. TK being put in that coma. The Ankylomon injuring Mimi. Tailmon cutting open Ishida's back. Phantomon was mocking all of it.

With a roar, he pushed the ghost back, forcing the scythe aside, the chill within his body bringing a hatred Taichi had no idea was possible. Phantomon swung down on him but he swatted the blade aside and spun, carrying a swing towards Phantomon. Phantomon moved back, avoiding the swing and he pushed the end of the handle towards Taichi. The chain shot towards him, the metal ball crashing into his shoulder, though he barely noticed the pain.

He lunged at Phantomon, swinging the PhotoSaber, Phantomon swiftly moving the scythe to deflect each blow. Taichi staggered back as the chain struck him in the stomach, but after spitting out the blood, he lunged again. His swings grew harder as the cold hate melted into a searing rage, one thought repeating in his head. _Kill him! Kill him! Kill him!_ The chain came for his head but this time he moved the PhotoSaber, deflecting it with his hilt, and his left hand. Part of him knew he'd regret that as he saw how badly his hand was bleeding now, but he was too numb from his hate and rage to care.

He pressed his attack again. The chain went for his chest. He managed to twist, but it glanced with yet another pain he could ignore. The suffering Phantomon caused them, and in Hikari's case, wanted to cause, was all the motivation Taichi needed. Nothing would stop him from cutting down this Phantomon. And whatever other Phantomons replace him. All of them until the real Phantom was just a bad memory.

* * *

Koushiro never really considered himself the hero type. When he was helping Sora back up Taichi, he was just being logical in that a two pronged attack would fare better than one. When he activated his digivice, it was simply the possible danger of the activation being too much for him versus the guaranteed danger of facing Phantomon with just Motimon. There was no logical reason for Sora to risk her life for his.

It wasn't like she was his friend or anything. They'd only met today and every conversation they had was about surviving this place. And yet, there she was, defending him. He remembered the nightmare Phantomon sent him. The rundown orphanage his adopted parents abandoned him in; his mother had finally given birth to a real son. No need for Koushiro to be contaminating the Izumi bloodline any longer. So he was left all alone… It hit him. _I'm not alone!_ Sora, this girl he only just met, was protecting him with her life! And Taichi was always talking to him like an equal. A friend. _They _are_ my friends!_

He watched the two Phantomons suddenly move in, both swinging inward. Sora stepped forward with a shout and swung both her blades from left to right, pushing their weapons aside. But then she stepped back, shaking a little, the blood dripping in front of her answering his question. "Sora-san…" he started. He couldn't take watching her do this anymore. If they were being his friends, then he was going to start acting like one to them.

"I won't let them near you, Koushiro-kun," she answered in a determined voice, "Just stay behind me."

"But…" This wasn't what he wanted. But what could he say? She was stronger than him and she actually knew how to fight. He barely knew how to make a fist.

"Koushiro-kun," Sora's voice barely hid the pain she had to be in, "Taichi should only be fighting one of these guys. He'll win and cut the last tentacle. Or one of these two will go after him and then I'll win. No matter how it looks, we've got this." What? Okay, that did sound logical, but… what? How could she be so certain?

He wanted to ask but dared not distract her. _So I just have to wait until Taichi-san can get through?_ He looked across the room. He could see Taichi easily enough, his PhotoSaber flashing in all directions, but the Phantomon was defending himself. It actually looked rather even. Was Taichi really that much of a swordsman? No, that was the wrong question. Phantomon fought with nightmarish illusions that were only broken by that angel and that "Light of Hope". It stood to reason that the illusions couldn't be broken by just anyone. In fact, this could be the first time Phantomon ever had to fight like this. His skills would be subpar. _And his tactics._

A realization flashed in Koushiro's head. _When it comes to combat, Phantomon is as much of an amateur as we are!_ And while he didn't know much about fighting, he did know that one of the biggest dangers was getting distracted and not paying attention to one's surroundings. And a preteen girl wielding two blades of light energy with enough skill to hold off his two pronged attack had to very distracting. _I could get to the last tentacle myself! The Phantomon's won't notice me, and even if they do, I don't believe they can turn their backs on Taichi-san and Sora-san._ He almost felt himself smile. All he had to do was sprint over to the tentacle and… and…

Reality set in. Even if he did get to the tentacle, there was nothing he could do. Only the Photo Core was able to damage them and he couldn't expect Sora to fight the two Phantomons with just a single blade. He looked at his AstroBlaster and thought about the other Cores. He had deduced that Astro would involve gravity in some way, so maybe if he thought of the other Cores he could think of something? Taichi already confirmed that the light from Electro wasn't effective and Sora's brief use of Pyro yielded similar results. Cyro? Ice can bend or even reflect light, but the PhotoSabers weren't nearly bright enough.

Another sound from Sora. He couldn't bare to look to see how badly the Phantomons have hurt her now. _How can she believe we'll win?! Phantomon's got us!_ The thought sunk in. _Phantomon's got us. We've lost._ Another sound from Sora, more pained than before. He glared at his AstroBlaster. Why couldn't this thing shoot suns or something? Those little gravity wells weren't going to do much to Phantomon. _Maybe if I aim real carefully, I could damage his scythe a little…_ The answer slapped him in the face. _Or I could shoot the tentacle! If I keep shooting it the gravity distortions might overwhelm it!_ He looked ahead, feeling a surge of energy. He had a plan.

* * *

Sora could feel Koushiro's eyes on her. She knew he was thinking of an argument against what she was doing but surely he was smart enough to know there was no point. Koushiro had never been in any kind of a fight in his life. She could remember what Taichi would say to soccer club boys who complained about having a girl protect them. _Get strong enough so she won't have to._ Both Phantomons swung down in an "X" pattern. Grimacing, Sora swung both PhotoSabers into the left Phantomon and managed to swing hard enough to push the right blade aside too, though at the cost of a slash along her right breast and shoulder.

_So this is what a peeled potato feels like,_ she thought, quickly glancing at her growing collection of injuries. These Phantomon weren't exactly good, but fighting with two weapons was harder than it looked. But she would find a way, the memory of Hikari haunting her. _Chain!_ She barely managed to duck the chain heading for her head with the other Phantomon swung down with a bisecting slash. She swung her left blade to catch the scythe, hearing her bike helmet crack as the scythe dug into it. She felt herself lower to her knees under the pressure, but she kept her eye on the other Phantomon. He swung the chain towards her face, though she managed to thrust the PhotoSaber forward, striking and deflecting the ball with a blow that left her arm tingling.

With that other Phantomon busy regaining control of his chain, Sora brought her other PhotoSaber into an upwards slash against the scythe bearing down on her, finally pushing it off, dragging her helmet with it. She then stepped forward, slashing at the Phantomon, forcing him to back away while her helmet fell off the scythe and split in half. _So much for that bit of armor._ This was really not good, not having landed a single attack, but she wasn't giving up.

She had to be strong enough for this, after all, she had a defenseless ten year old behind her. And then there was TK, just seven and a half. Mimi and Jou were in no shape for these kinds of dangers in the best of times. Yamato would probably be okay, but not when he was so badly injured. _It's up to Taichi and myself to see everyone through this. And there's no way Taichi can handle it alone, no matter what he thinks._ Another "X" slash, but this time Sora angled herself slightly as she countered it the same way. This time the cut only met her shoulder. The thought of any of the others facing that illusion motivated her to ignore the pain.

She saw something up ahead. _Koushiro?! What are you doing?!_ He was running by the Phantomon, seeming to have slipped by when the one was driving its scythe down on her. _Well, whatever you're __doing__, be careful. I'll make sure they don't notice you._

* * *

Taichi quickly squatted as Phantomon's chain shot over the top of his head. He finally was getting the hang of dodging that thing, the many aches covering his body reminding him how long it took to figure it out. He stepped forward swinging, being rewarded with a spray of sparks. Phantomon glided backwards, a burning horizontal cut along its body. Taichi started to pursue but stopped once he saw Phantomon was above the water. _Get back here, you coward!_

He took a quick look around, just in case his foe was trying anything new. He saw two other Phantomons facing two flashing lights. _A Phantomon for each of us, then,_ he noted, grimly. That meant he had to kill his Phantomon fast; there was no way Koushiro was up to a fight like this. But at least Sora was with him. She'd watch his back… _Dammit!_ Even as the realization dawned on him, he was already running towards her. _There's no way Sora would let Koushiro fight! She's fighting both of them herself!_ As much he teased her about her "babies", he knew just how she felt. When he nearly got Hikari killed that one time, he truly understood what it meant to be a "big brother". Hikari looked up to him, believed just about anything he told her, and if she got scared, she would come to him even before their parents. And the consequences of not taking that responsibility seriously were something he would never forget. It was the same with the younger kids in the soccer club. He was their "big brother", their role model and protector. And Sora, who was there for all of it, had taken the same lessons to heart.

One Phantomon was pushing his scythe against both of Sora's weapons while the other had raised his weapons. Taichi swung at the one her blade was holding back, causing him to move back along with her swing. The other Phantomon moved back too as he faced him. "Gimme Koushiro's weapon," he ordered, holding a hand out, "It's my turn to dual wield. My guy's injured so you can finish him."

"Showoff," Sora growled, placing a PhotoSaber in his hand. The relief in her voice worried him, along with the bits of blood he was seeing on the ground. He risked a glance back at her and cringed. She was covered in bleeding cuts and a few marks which had to have come from the chain. No sign of Koushiro.

"Or I take on all three," he muttered as a scythe swung straight down on him. He swatted it aside with both PhotoSabers only to see a chain heading right for his head. He quickly leaned, the metal ball just glancing off his skull. "Dammit!"

"You're not looking that much better," Sora said in a strained voice. Taichi leaned back, bumping into her as a scythe slashed down in front of him. He wasn't even seeing Phantomons anymore; just scythes and chains.

"Keep telling yourself that. Where's Koushiro?" Another chain, this time he managed to deflect it and meet the follow up swing.

"He's safe as long we deal with these guys!" Well, that made him feel a little better. He wanted to ask more, but not with the ghostly trio here. A scythe raked across the back of his shoulder.

"Dammit! So, your baby boy abandoned you? It's always so hard when they leave." At least he managed to deflect the chain heading for his stomach.

"You know, there _is_ such thing as friendly stabbing!"

* * *

_Break, damn you! Break!_ Koushiro frantically fired the gravity shots on to the tentacle. He was sitting with the AstroBlaster resting on the ground to insure he struck the tentacle in the same spot each time. With each shot, the tentacle warped around the gravity well a little, but snapped back into shape afterward. _Come on, break already!_ He fired again and again but to no avail. Out of frustration, he looked back at Sora, hoping that maybe some miracle occurred and she'd beaten at least one of the Phantomons. Nope. Taichi was there now and the two were, back to back, fighting three Phantomons.

_Why aren't you breaking?!_ More and more shots poured in, each with the same effect. _I could have crushed steel with this much gravity! _He stopped shooting and peered at the tentacle. No sign of any stress. His ineffectiveness made him want to cry. Sora was practically giving her life for him and the one thing he had to do, he was failing at! He lifted the gun up and sprayed shots all over the tentacle, desperately looking for a weak point, or a reaction that would give him a hint on what to do. Nothing. The tentacle just slightly wiggled wherever it was hit, almost like it were laughing at him.

_We're so close! We can't lose to Phantomon now! I can't let Taichi-san and Sora-san down!_ He set the gun down again and resumed firing. _Where's that angel?! Where is he and his "Light of Hope"?!_ In fact, what did that even mean? Unseen possibilities? Was that like the possibility of breaking the tentacle, because that was looking pretty impossible to see right now. Maybe it was. As illogical as it sounded, he had nothing else to go on.

He visualized the tentacle being ripped apart and fired. _You will break._ He fired again, making absolutely certain he was shooting the same spot. _You will break._ The tentacle showed no change under the strain. _You will wear down and break._ He tried to imagine the tentacle being pulled and twisted by the gravity wells. Each well twisted gravity the same way, so the tentacle would be constantly pulled the same way._ You will wear down and break. _He imagined a rubber band being stretched too far, leaving it permanently distorted. The tentacle would be the same, little distortions all over its surface, as it wore down. _You will wear down and break._ Small white lights began appearing in the pitch black Astro shots. He continued running the image of the tentacle being worn down through his mind, the image getting clearer in his head each time. _You will wear down and break._ The white dots began shining brighter and brighter, the white light turning golden as it began covering the entirety of the gravity well, though traces of the blackness still remained. Koushiro was so memorized by them that he nearly lost his train of thought.

The tentacle snapped. Koushiro watched, barely comprehending, as the two halves burned away. _I-It's gone?_ He took a moment to let it sink in. _It's gone! It's gone! I-I did it!_

* * *

The chain hit Taichi's fingers, the screaming pain causing him to drop both PhotoSabers. "No!" he screamed, the weapons hitting the ledge and rolling towards the edge. He desperately reached for them but a Phantomon appeared right in front, scythe raised. His blood went cold as the weapons swung down. He closed his eyes, bracing himself, and then… nothing. No pain or, well, anything. All he could hear was his own breathing, water running, and… Sora's breathing? He opened his eyes. He was still in the room but no Phantomons. "Uh, Sora?"

"He did it," she said, her voice filled with wonder. Did what? "Koushiro did it! He destroyed the last tentacle!" What? Taichi steadied himself and stood back up, looking to the far end and, sure enough, he could see the tentacle burning away. Koushiro did do it… but how?

"But we had the PhotoSabers," he said.

"Well, he is smarter than us," Sora pointed out. That was true. He looked back at the dome just in time to see another Phantomon emerging from it. Just one, this time, who hovered in the center.

"So I guess the real ragmon is coming out to play," he taunted.

"You dare mock me?!" Phantomon's angry voice rang, "Do not think you have beaten me! You have merely-" He was cut off by a blue fireball to the face. "Who dares?!"

_Agumon!_ Taichi barely had time to turn around before getting tackled by an excited dinosaur.

"Taichi!" He didn't even bother fighting the tears as he hugged his partner back.

"Agumon! You're okay!"

"Of course I am!" Agumon's voice cracked slightly, "What kind of partner would I be if I let a little necromancy stop me?!"

"Soraaaa!" a pink feathery blur cried out, followed by an "oof" from Sora.

"Piyomon! I'm okay!" She sounded just has happy as Piyomon. "It's just some scratches! Not as bad as it looks!" That was a lie. Taichi could hear in her voice how much pain she was in and now that those Phantomons were gone, he was becoming aware of just how badly they messed him up.

"You look like you had a real hard time," Agumon said, looking sad, "I'm sorry. I'll do better-"

"It wasn't your fault," Taichi interrupted, "and it was just a few lucky shots from Raggedymon."

"Koushiro-han, on the other hand, looks quite well," Tentomon said with a trace of pride in his voice. Taichi looked over at the other boy. He was out of breath, evidently having sprinted all the way here, but he did look okay otherwise.

"Y-Yes," he panted, "Th-Thanks in n-no small part t-to Sora-san. She t-took a few of th-the, ah, proverbial bullets for me."

"_You were shot?!_" Piyomon exploded.

"Not like that!" Sora responded, "Not literally! Look, this isn't really the time."

"Yeah, you guys spread out so we can evolve you," Taichi ordered, "I'm pretty sure Phantomon is getting impatient." Agumon moved a few steps away so he wouldn't be too close to the children. Piyomon and Tentomon placed themselves above the water.

"Enough!" Phantomon roared, "I am the Warden of Death!" Taichi sent the evolution command to Agumon. "You will not ignore me! You will not mock me! You will find that I…" Phantomon's voice trailed off as Agumon, Piyomon, and Tentomon were replaced with Greymon, Birdramon, and Kabuterimon. "… that I can very merciful. If you leave nowaaaugh!" Phantomon's voice because a scream as the Electro powered Kabuterimon fired a lightning bolt into Phantomon's scythe. The weapon disintegrated while the evil digimon fell back to the dome, only to be hit by a blazing cyclone fired by Birdramon. And Greymon was adding his own flames into it, creating a beautiful cyclone of red and blue flame. Phantomon was slammed into the wall and when the flames cleared, the wall completely singed except for a Phantomon-shaped silhouette.

Taichi stared in silence as the three digimon reverted back to their previous forms. A blue light began to fill the dome, chasing the red away. A gentle mechanical humming filled the air and the blackness in the water pouring from the pipes started draining away. Looking below, he could see the black water being chased out by the clean water. "I told you," Tentomon said, "Digital World water filters are the best."

Taichi found himself walking over to where Phantomon was blasted. "What are you doing?" Agumon asked.

"I have to know," he answered, "I need to know he's really dead." The images of Hikari flashing through his mind. Was Phantomon suffering like that? He could only hope so.

"I'm pretty sure we got him," Sora assured. Reaching the spot, he quickly noticed a small metal object on the ground.

"That's his digicore," Piyomon said in a sad tone, "When a digimon uses black magic, like necromancy, they are denied the Rebirth Cycle. He's never coming back." He stared at the object. So that was Phantomon. Phantomon who hurt Ishida and Mimi. Phantomon who put TK in the coma. Phantomon who made him think Hikari had been sent to Hell. With a roar, he ran forward and stomped on the digicore. Again and again, he desperately hoped Phantomon was somehow feeling all of it.

"I-Is that okay?" he heard Koushiro ask.

"No way he's the first to do that," Tentomon answered, "I'm pretty sure we'd know if he shouldn't."

"We were going to get Agumon to melt it," Piyomon added, "I mean, no one's ever revived a dead digicore, but better to be safe, right?"

A pair of gentle arms pulled him back. "That's enough, Taichi," Sora said, "You've made your point. He's dead." He glared at the crushed remains.

"Dying once isn't enough," he growled.

"My turn," Agumon said, also glaring at the digicore, "I don't know what you did to make Taichi so mad, but it had to real bad! You'll never do it again!" He sprayed his flames over it and it slowly melted, not letting up until it was an unrecognizable blob. Taichi stared at the blob not sure what else to do. Knock it into the water so the filter can claim it? No, that would probably be like putting it in the Rebirth Cycle if he was understanding things right.

"We got him, Taichi," Sora's soft voice spoke, "Let's just get back to the others." He nodded, still half expecting another Phantomon to pop up. Well, whatever else was here, he was going to get everyone through, if for no other reason than to see Hikari again and make certain she really was okay.

* * *

**Are you there, Yamato-kun?** Yamato jolted awake.

_Dammit! I fell asleep again!_ At least it was Sora calling him, and not Yagami. **Uh, yeah, sorry. Guess I dropped off.**

**Oh, I'm sorry! **

**Don't be. I wanted to keep watch in case Phantomon came for us. Can't let Gabumon do everything.**

**That's true, but you don't have to worry anymore. Phantomon's gone.**

"What?!" he couldn't help answering out loud.

"What is it, Yamato?" Gabumon asked.

"Hang on." **You're serious?! You guys got Phantomon?!**

**We did. And the water should be safe to drink soon. How's TK-kun?** Yamato looked over at his little brother, feeling dread bubble in his stomach. What if TK was still cursed? What if killing Phantomon made it worse?! He was still lying peacefully, the once again purple Tsukaimon sleeping on his chest. Yamato's heart sunk. TK was still out, though he had to admit it was kind of cute the way his and Tsukaimon's snores were synchronized; when one inhaled, the other exhaled, and vice versa.

The realization slowly dawned on him. _He's sleeping!_ _He's not in a coma anymore!_ He stared at his little brother, looking for some sign that he was just imagining it. But no, TK was just sleeping now. Yamato's spirit soared, the room seemed so much brighter now that TK was okay. It hit him. _It is brighter!_ He looked around. The thick darkness was gone! Sure it was still dark, what with the torches being the only light source, but they weren't being smothered anymore! He could feel the heat from the torches now, too, and the air didn't feel nearly so oppressive!

**Yamato-kun! Is everything okay?!** Oh, right. He was still talking- er, Tmailing Sora.

**Uh, yeah, sorry. Just a little excited. TK's just sleeping now. That darkness is gone too!**

**Yeah, we kinda noticed that. **

** So, how ****w****as Phantomon?** No response. That was worrying. Did anything happen?

**He was very evil. He… ****did things we aren't ready to relive.** He could almost hear her pained voice.

**I ****won't bring it up again.****But are you all okay? If anything happened, TK's gonna blame himself.**

** Just like Hika. Anyways, we kept Koushiro safe, but Phantomon did a real number on me and Taichi.**** Uh, ****we're back where we fell in from. We were like one floor down!** He chuckled a little, more at relief than at what she said. Phantomon and that darkness were almost feeling like a bad dream. **Anyways, we should be able to find you guys, so I'll go now.**

**Remember we're not far. I'll stay up in case you need directions.**

** Thanks, Yamato-kun.**

"Yamato?" Gabumon asked.

_Oh, right. Sorry Gabumon._ "Sora was, uh, Tmailing me. Phantomon is dead and it looks like TK's going to be okay." Gabumon looked over at the small boy.

"It does, and the darkness is normal now too. Maybe we can pull through this." Yamato nodded a wave of peace washing over him. Yeah, they weren't out of danger in the slightest. They were still trapped in his "Digital World", but at least the immediate danger's been dealt with. _Maybe we can get through this._

* * *

Afterword: I'm kind of surprised that Koushiro ended up being the one to deliver that winning strike. I find him and Jou to be the hardest to work with so if I get a chance to give them a moment like that, I'm taking it.


	7. First Day 06

The sight of the infirmary was almost enough to make Taichi cry in relief. He probably would have too, if not for Ishida's presence. He stumbled in through the doorway, Agumon right behind, and his head and left hand trying to out throb each other. He immediately spotted a bed right next to the doorway but ignored its call, just in case Sora needed it more. She insisted she wasn't as messed up as him but he wouldn't take her word anymore than she'd take his. Instead, he picked out the bed third in line, just in case Koushiro needed a closer one too.

He scanned the row of beds on the opposite side. Jou and Mimi were still out, Tanemon and Pukamon were up but staying quiet. Ishida was up, yippie. TK was… still out? "Relax," Ishida said, "He's just sleeping now. Sora-kun told me the good news."

"Aw, TK-kun and Tsukaimon breathing in sync," Sora commented. Taichi rolled his eyes and resumed lumbering to his chosen bed.

"Phantomon's just a burn mark now," Agumon announced.

"Actually it's the wall around him that's the burn mark," Tentomon corrected.

"Sora!" Piyomon quietly sang out. Taichi could only imagine the look on Sora's face. As Tentomon evolved again to help everyone climb out of the hole they fell in, Agumon started sniffing around the flowing water and then stating it was perfectly clean. Even Koushiro was desperate enough to blindly trust him and Tentomon really wasn't kidding when he bragged about the Digital World's water filters. It was the best water Taichi ever had, finally washing the taste of blood and vomit from his mouth. And then Piyomon started singing Sora's name.

"Water's good now," he said, finally reaching his chosen bed. He slid on and almost felt himself fall asleep, stopping himself just in time. He wasn't about to sleep yet, not until everyone else was settled. From the corner of his eye, he saw Sora taking the bed next to him, but Koushiro was moving past both her and him, leaving the bed closest to the doorway unclaimed.

"Great," Pukamon said with a smile, "Jou will be happy to hear that." He floated up and flew over, putting his head right over Jou's ear. "Booga booga booga!" A split second later, Jou was sitting right up, eyes wide.

"Quiet! Mimi's still in a lot of pain!" Tanemon hissed, "She needs her sleep!"

"The gho… The gho…" Jou stammered.

"Nope, just me!" Pukamon said. Jou slowly turned his head to face Pukamon.

"Why did you do that?" His voice had an almost menacing tone to it.

"Because Phantomon's been ghostbusted and the water's good now." Jou fell silent and Taichi quietly laughed to himself at Pukamon's helpful non-answer. Jou stared at Pukamon in silence for a few moments and then looked up at Taichi, his widening even further.

"What happened to you and Sora-san?!" he blurted out.

"Quiet!" Tanemon snapped. Jou looked at her and bowed his head slightly.

"S-Sorry!" he apologized and his voice quieted down. He looked back at Taichi. "But seriously, what happened to you two?" His stomach let out a growl and his voice turned sheepish. "And is there any chance you found something food related?" Taichi's stomach growled its own answer back.

"We weren't exactly in the type of spot food would be in," Koushiro reminded, "Since Phantomon is gone, I suspect it will be relatively safe to explore. Once I get some sleep, Tentomon and I will explore this place properly."

"We are?" Tentomon spoke up.

"Yes, Tentomon. No one's here to take care of us," Koushiro looked at Taichi, "By the way, Taichi-san and Sora-san, I do appreciate you consideration with the bed choices, but anyone here can see I got off far easier than the two of you. Please don't coddle me. I don't believe any of us can afford it."

"And you're absolutely sure Phantomon's gone?" Jou asked, then his voice took on a hard edge, "And again, what happened to you two?!"

"Phantomon got a couple lucky shots in," Taichi answered as nonchalantly as he could.

"But now he's just a burn mark," Agumon said.

"No! The wall around him's the burn mark!" Tentomon reminded, "How many times do I have to explain it to you?!"

"What's the record?" Pukamon asked.

"At least Koushiro got off okay," Tanemon said.

"Y-Yes, I-I did." Taichi didn't blame Koushiro for not wanting to admit to practically hiding behind a girl. Especially given the condition said girl was in.

**Trust me, Koush, there's no shame in having Sora protect you. Or choice.**

** Koush? I mean, thank you.**

"We all had different parts to play in that fight," Sora said, "Koushiro-kun's kept him out of the line of fire, but we would never have won without him." Koushiro's face starting turning red. Getting praised like that from a girl had to be very new for him.

A small moan sounded. Taichi looked around and saw TK starting to wake up with a very drowsy looking Tsukaimon rolling off of him. "I'm hungry and thirsty, Yama," he said.

"Sorry TK," Ishida said, "We have water now, but no food yet."

"But we turned the ghost into a burn mark!" Agumon said.

"You're doing that on purpose," Tentomon growled.

"Ghost?" TK looked confused, "I just remember I was gonna use the digivice." He gave a guilty look. "I-I know you said it was bad, Taichi-san, but I really wanted to help." Taichi gave the boy a smile.

"I know, TK, but your body just isn't strong enough. I could barely handle it."

"I believe I'm the weakest a person using the digivice can be," Koushiro said, "Taichi-san is right. Please remember the Harmonius Ones were supposed modify the digivices for our bodies."

"Harmon…" poor TK sounded confused again, "Um, okay. Where are they?" The room fell silent. Eventually Tsukaimon spoke up.

"We think the bad guys got them."

"Oh…" TK looked at his partner, "Why are you purple, Tokomon?"

"He's a Tsukaimon now," Agumon pointed out.

"No I'm not!" Tsukaimon protested, "Tsukaimon are mean! I'm a purple Tokomon." Everyone fell silent at the small digimon's denial.

"What about the kitty?" TK broke the silence.

"You mean Tailmon?" Taichi answered, "No idea. But we've got some new tricks. She won't get us so easily next time." TK shook his head.

"I mean the other kitty," he said, "The one you saw the bad kitty fighting." What? He thought back. Tailmon was just there, and just one. "You remember," TK continued, "When Sora-san and Mimi-san were fighting, you saw the kitties fighting. I hope the other one didn't get hurt." Taichi's jaw dropped. Why did TK have to bring that up now?! Or ever?!

**Watch what you say in front of my brother!** He could practically hear Ishida shouting through the Tmail.

**I am so not trusting you alone with him.** Sora's Tmail dripped with disappointment.

**Hey, I've known the kid for years! I've corrupted him as much as I'm going to!**

** You've had Hika to reign you in. But I must say, he really is a sweet boy. I certainly approve of him and Hika.**

** What are you talking about? He and Hikari have been friends for years, remember?** Sora's next Tmail took a few moments to come.

**You are so dense.**

* * *

Taichi took a deep breath before putting his hands on the large stone door that, according to Koushiro, should lead outside. It was years, decades even (though Jou claimed it was just a few days), since he was bedridden from Phantomon's injuries. His left hand was still bandaged up, and more bandages were wrapped around the points on his body Phantomon's chain had hit, but at least he could walk around again. Going this long without seeing the sun or even the sky was driving him up the wall.

"Careful you don't wreck your hand," Ishida said.

"I'll push too!" TK added. When Koushiro started exploring the palace, TK insisted on coming. Part of Taichi felt bad for Koushiro; TK was a lot to handle at times. On the other hand, the little guy had a lot to say about how smart Koushiro was. And the look on the older boy's face made it clear he never dreamed he'd have a fan. Ishida joined in too once his back healed enough. Just enough according to Jou.

And now Taichi was finally recovered enough to go along too. So did Sora, but she wanted to stay back with the others in case something happened. Just in time too; Koushiro was creating a map of the palace on his laptop and it was coming along very well. He'd already discovered a kitchen which was still fairly stocked and, apparently, the Rebirth Cycle's maintenance kept the food preserved. Of course, it wasn't infinite, so when Koushiro found the likely exit, or entrance actually, Taichi made a point of coming along.

The actual doors were located in a massive entrance hall, lined with cracked and fallen pillars that probably looked real elegant once. Doorways clearly meant for things much bigger than humans lined the sides, too dark to see inside with just the torch lights, but TK took a good look in each one anyways, looking for the "kitty". He didn't fully buy the explanation that the "cats" Taichi saw fighting didn't enter the Digital World with them but he wasn't about to tell the kid what it actually meant. Sora and Ishida had both forbidden it, in fact.

"Everyone ready?" he asked, putting his hands against one of the doors. Ishida, Koushiro, and TK placed their hands on the same door.

"Other than you using your left hand, we're ready," Ishida answered.

"My hand's fine." Taichi took a breath and pushed… and then bit back a curse as pain shot through his arm. Okay, so his hand wasn't quite fine. But even with just his one good hand, the door slid open, allowing in a rush of dusty air. But whatever joy he would've felt from being outside again died at the sight awaiting him. He knew not to expect much. Sure, the whole Phantomon being the supreme demon lord was a lie, but the fact that a pile of rags pretending to be a ghost could control the palace of a holy kingdom meant the Digital World had to be in bad shape. Maybe not the nightmare Phantomon showed him, but he was expecting bad.

And it was bad. In front of the palace was a completely ruined fountain with the crumbled remains of three figures. At least two of them looked a bit angelic, though it was hard to tell with the statues so broken. A stone wall surrounded the palace, though now it was more rubble than wall. Same could be said for the buildings stretching on ahead. And everywhere he looked, huge chunks taken out were taken out of the ground, like a squadron of bombers just came in and unloaded everything.

"I can't believe File Kingdom really fell," Tsukaimon said, "It was supposed to stand against any evil."

"Maybe from the outside," Koushiro suggested, "Remember those secret passages? I'll bet they first weakened File from the inside and then attacked." Sora suddenly gasped.

"What is it?" Taichi asked, grateful for a reason to take his eyes off the devastation.

"I just had a horrible thought," she said, "Remember when we destroyed the Bakemon and Phantomon? How they turned into those particles?"

"All digimon do that," Tentomon reminded. His eyes suddenly widened. "Oh… Y-You're right." _What are they talking about?_ Taichi wondered, looking back at the ruin. _Yeah, digimon disappear when they die… _It hit him, leaving a sick feeling in his stomach. _Just how many digimon were killed?! It looks like this place was attacked so suddenly… _Somehow, it was worse not knowing how many were killed. It could be thousands, tens of thousands even.

"This is horrible," Ishida said, sounding as sick as Taichi felt.

"Rebirth Maintenance should've repaired all this," Tentomon said, "Just how damaged was the Digital World?" Needing to look away again, this time Taichi looked at the sky. The sky always comforted him… but not this sky. This sky wasn't that nice blue he loved so much, it was chaotic clash of black, white, and several shades of purple, all fighting for dominance. And then there was the black pentagon hovering way above. It had to be gigantic given how easy it was to see and on the end of each point was one of the five symbols for Life, Death, Destiny, Miracles, and Equality. The symbols were lit with an eerie purple flame, though Death was simply pitch black.

"I think there's more Wardens," he found himself muttering, his excitement over Phantomon's defeat long forgotten.

"I concur," Koushiro said.

"I wanna go home," TK whimpered.

* * *

Afterword: At last this arc is done. Really not happy with how I started it but I do like how the Phantomon fight came out. In hindsight it was a big mistake throwing in everyone at once but these File stories were just to get set up for the Crest stories and work out the ground rules for this series. I originally planned to start with the Crests but starting in the middle like that really doesn't work without knowing everything that happened before.

Anyways, The next arc is drafted but its not ready for posting yet. It'll be a little shorter and tamer than this one.


	8. Order of the Green 01

Foreword: IT'S ALIVE! So yeah, remember how I said this story was drafted? Well, as I mentioned in my bio, I needed to rework it. Namely, it was feeling like filler despite introducing some important elements. Had to add some new stuff in which was harder writing the story in the first place. So yeah, my idea of updating based on the progress of the future stories kinda backfired.

I also made small addition to the previous chapter, a couple for TK's reaction to seeing Tsukaimon. One of the first things I thought of and somehow forgot to include.

* * *

Taichi raced across the dusty street, frantically trying to work out a path on the digivice's Scout Mode map. The map was three dimensional image of every structure he saw, natural or otherwise, and it automatically filled in things such as roads and alleys. With how big File Kingdom was, this discovery of Koushiro's was an absolute godsend, ranking up there with evolution and the Element Cores. He spotted an upcoming fork, one branch was colored in a bright green, another function of the map; highlighting where he'd actually traveled, though he had to choose to activate it. Koushiro insisted on using it all the time but Taichi never really worried out about it. Scout Mode also allowed the digivices to connect to different access points, including each other, and Koushiro always made sure everyone's maps were equally up to date, so Taichi really didn't see the point of some extra highlighting.

He zeroed in on an alleyway. It branched into two large buildings on both sides. The insides of both would be dark, but Scout Mode had better night vision than he did and would spot the obstacles, placing them on the map. Navigating on the just the map wasn't easy, the bruises on his legs reminding him of the practice attempts, but it was his best chance to escape Tailmon. As he rushed in he scanned the walls for a doorway or something. Most buildings had one leading to an alley. Hopefully both buildings did and they were close enough for him to enter before Tailmon reached the alley and saw which one he picked.

_Just w__indows. Can I jump to them?_ He had both his CoreSaber and CoreBlaster out and with either of them he could propel himself towards a window with the Aero Core. But, no, the time it would take to stop, position himself, load the Core, actually create the necessary up draft, and climb through a window would take far more seconds than Tailmon would give him. _Come on! Give me a doorway already!_ Ugh. Windows. Wall. Wall? _Wall!_ The alley had a brick wall going right across it! _What the __h__ell?! That's not on the map!_ He immediately tried to stop, and stumbled into the wall with a painful thud and landed on his rear._ Where did you come from?_ As he stood himself back up, he noticed the highlighted street again. _Oh… that's right. I wasn't here yet. Koushiro was right again._

Panting, and coughing over the dry and dusty air, he slowly turned around. There was Tailmon, right at the entrance, slowly walking towards him, her expression saying she'd found a fat mouse. This was very bad. His CoreSaber and CoreBlaster were out but he held no delusions about using them against her. Sure, over the weeks since leaving the palace, he, along with Sora and Ishida, had been training hard with their weapons, but Tailmon was matching Garurumon's speed and attacking Birdramon from above. She was clearly a very seasoned warrior and it took two of their digimon just to drive her off.

And the stupidity of Taichi's earlier actions rushed back to him. He and Koushiro were exploring File while Sora and Ishida stayed back to guard the others. Koushiro insisted on maximum caution, rushing from shadow to shadow and waiting at least half an hour before crossing one the larger streets in the open. It at least kept Tailmon off their backs but it was also very annoying. And if the Wardens were even aware of the children's presence or Phantomon's death, they didn't show it. Taichi was starting to wonder if they even existed anymore; it had been a long time after all. Throw in the fact that he and Koushiro had both Agumon and Tentomon with them, he was naturally starting to feel more than a little secure. Against Koushiro's protests, he started exploring more casually. The white blur known as Tailmon came right out of nowhere, right when he was casually walking across a street. An instant later, Agumon and Tentomon were unconscious and Taichi was doing his best to lure the fuzzy killer away._ Well, at least I saved Koushiro and the digimon._ No, scratch that. He saved Koushiro and Tentomon. _Agumon's as doomed as I am,_ he bitterly remembered, _Sorry you had such a stupid partner, buddy._

He desperately scoured the map, looking for, well, he didn't know. But whatever it was, he needed it now. _A little further and I'd at least be in the Miracles section. __Could sure use one._ Koushiro had determined that the black pentagon was directly above File's center and by using the symbols on the points, he was able to roughly determine each Warden's territory. And, fittingly enough, Taichi was currently in Destiny.

**Taichi!** A Tmail! And three digivices were closing in on his location, colored white, gray, and yellow. Ishida, Sora, and Koushiro. The gray one, Sora, had several circles around it, meaning that it was the source of the Tmail.

**Sora! Just in time!** Of course, he didn't actually need to see the color of Sora's icon to know it was her. The speed they were moving could only be matched by Birdramon or Garurumon, and Garurumon wouldn't be moving in a straight line. Now he just had to buy himself the time Birdramon would need to get here. He focused the Electro Core into the Saber and Photo into the Blaster. The Saber's blade lengthened with a new sparking yellow blade. With the blade electrified, Tailmon would not be able to block it with her claws.

_Just hold her off for a minute at the most._ He immediately opened fire with the PhotoBlaster. Instead of the default scarlet bolts, a white ray, with the same rainbow aura as the PhotoSaber, appeared and stretched all the way past the alley's entrance instantly appeared. But even as he pointed the gun, Tailmon launched herself on to wall and was now flying towards Taichi. She wouldn't reach him; not with him holding the ElectroSaber, so he took a few steps forward and swung, hoping to catch her in the landing. Right as she touched the ground, she dropped into an instant roll, the blade passing just over her head.

His eyes widened, seeing how Tailmon was now right in front of him. _Damn it!_ He threw himself back as she shot upwards, her claws pointed upwards, tearing a chunk of his shirt off, followed by a stinging pain and the feeling of liquid running down. He fell on to his rear as she pressed against a wall and launched herself back towards him. He fired the PhotoBlaster but as he aimed it, she stuck an arm out, pinching her claws together, repelling the beam. But at least it would push her back too, giving Taichi some breathing some breathing room

Tailmon dropped below the beam and launched towards him. He released the PhotoBlaster's trigger, it could only maintain the beam for ten seconds at a time, and moved forward giving the ElectroSaber a low swing. Tailmon shot overhead, her claws cutting into the tops of his shoulders. Ignoring the pain, he fired the PhotoBlaster at her again, this time using quick bursts. She bounced off the walls, avoiding each shot but he no longer cared. Now that she was behind him, he could get out of this dead end and cut off precious seconds until Birdramon arrived.

He started running again and switched the Photo Core for Astro. He aimed back and fired, not worrying about hitting Tailmon directly. The gravity shots would slow her down no matter how bad his aim was. Astro was the one Core that Tailmon any trouble, though it gave the children even more trouble, so using it in a fight wasn't really an option. Reaching the streets, he saw the distant Birdramon and rushed towards her, still firing behind him, though in the open like this, Tailmon would have a much easier time getting around the gravity wells.

A small but strong foot inserted itself into his back, throwing him on to his stomach. He let out a yelp as his cuts scraped against the dirty road, the ElectroSaber and AstroBlaster flying from his hands. He felt Tailmon step on his back and lift his head by the hair with one clawed hand. Her other hand pressed a claw against his throat. "Sorry, goggle boy," her voice dripping with contempt, "but you know, that's the funny thing about strategies. They get less effective every time you use them."

"I'd say this one's still working," he said, checking Birdramon's distance on the map. Very close. Any second now…

"What are you- oh son of a mouse!" Taichi couldn't help but grin. He was just starting to hear Birdramon's flaps and Tailmon had to know she was looking at three to one. _Yep. There she goes._ Feeling her weight off his back, he let out the breath he didn't realize he was holding. He started to push himself back up but his arms gave right out. And now that he was calming down, the stinging from the cuts along his body was getting to be a bit more than just "stinging".

"Hang on, I've got you," Sora's voice sounded as her arms gently slid around his chest, helping him back to his feet. As soon as he was up, he looked at her to thank her, when her eyes widened.

"You're hurt!"

"Not as bad as it looks," he waved it away. _Or feels. I hope. Jou's really gonna be cranky when he sees me._ The usually meek Jou tended to become a much scarier person when injuries, especially ones caused by stupidity, were involved. "I kind of brought it on myself, anyhow," he admitted and looked over at Kabuterimon with Koushiro next to the giant bug, looking thoughtful. He met Taichi's gaze and started coming over. _Okay, here goes._

"Taichi-san, I wish to discuss with you the recent events-" Koushiro began when Taichi held out a hand and interrupted.

"I know what you're going to say and you're right," he said, "It was stupid of me to wander out like that. I keep forgetting that even if the Wardens aren't here anymore, we still have Tailmon and whoever else is on her side. I promise to be more careful from now on." Koushiro just looked at him in silence which only made him more nervous.

"Wow, you actually admitted to a mistake?" Sora teased, "What other wonders will we see today?"

"The phrase 'smack a bitch' comes to mind," Taichi countered, his nervous somewhat forgotten.

"Promises, promises."

"Um, y-yes, a-anyways," Koushiro stuttered, before taking a breath. "I am impressed at your admission of your faults. It is considerably big of you to do that, but it is not what I wished to discuss. What my actual concern is that Tailmon's attack was suspiciously well timed given your, ah, mistake."

"Umm, okay?" Dare he risk asking for an explanation? Thankfully, Sora spoke up.

"What he means is that it's very suspicious that Tailmon attacked you right when you got sloppy."

"Within a minute, I believe," Koushiro added, "I find it unlikely the timing was entirely coincidental." That Taichi did understand, though he wished he hadn't.

"So Tailmon was watching us the entire time?" he asked.

"That is the most likely explanation, though it does not explain why she would wait."

"We can worry about that later," Sora said, "Let's just get back to camp."

* * *

Taichi focused on keeping his balance as he walked along the gigantic tree branch. The branch was very sturdy and normally walking across was no problem, but with his injuries from Tailmon throbbing so hard, he really had to be careful. Sweat covered his body, bringing an unwanted chill where his shirt was destroyed and ramping up the stinging from his cuts. With a thick, leafy canopy covering the sky, this forest was a lot cooler than the rest of File. It was a bit dark for Taichi's taste but at least the leaves let a fair amount of light through. Even better, they covered up that endless purple-black storm in the sky and the less Taichi saw of it the better. Air was nicer too, not so dry and dusty. From the bottom of his eyes, he spotted Tentomon and Piyomon hovering around, giving him a sense of relief. If he fell off, one would evolve and catch him. Most likely Tentomon since the forest was too thick for Birdramon to fly easily.

_Now for the trolley._ Balancing on the end of this branch was a trolley Agumon, Sora, and Koushiro had just gone inside and were waiting for him. Well, more Agumon and Sora than Koushiro. After escaping the palace, the children found this massive forest right behind it, like it was trying to swallow the ancient city and comparing it's location to that weird pentagon in the sky confirmed the obvious: it was the Warden of Life's territory. The forest was pretty imposing but thanks to Scout Mode, exploring it became a priority once everyone had found how much cooler it was than the rest of File. Of course, even with Scout Mode, it was still incredibly hard to get around. Absolutely gigantic trees too close for even Kabuterimon to navigate around, the buildings they'd grown over, the ripped open streets, there ended up being just one path through the plant labyrinth the children were able to take. It was far from easy but it did lead to a nice clearing around a lake and, given that there seemed to be no animal life, it naturally became the children's campsite.

As he stepped into the side doorway, the door probably on the ground way down below along with the remains of all the windows, his legs almost gave out in relief from being on a solid surface again. As he stumbled, Sora was immediately in front, catching him. "We're taking a break," she said as she lead him to one of the seats.

"I'm fine," he protested, looking at the trolley's missing rear, leading right to a rooftop of the seventh and final building the path went through. The rooftop would lead to a lot of stairs, but after six other buildings just as bad and the two caverns, one more didn't sound all that bad. Well, actually it did. He really needed to lie down, but not until he got back.

"Seriously, Taichi-san," Koushiro panted, "You're even more exhausted than I am."

"But-"

"I just told Piyomon and Tentomon we're stopping for now," Sora said. This was something Sora discovered, the fact that their digimon partners, and only their specific partners, could be Tmailed, though the digimon had yet to find a way to answer back. Taichi had attempted his own digivice explorations, just sort of opening his mind in a way that let it in, but all he got were a lot weird symbols and a headache. In the end, he gave up out of fear of crashing himself. Koushiro had the theory that the digivice features weren't really being discovered as much as they were being programmed by their feelings or something.

Allowing himself to be seated next to Sora, he realized just how weak he was feeling. Agumon hopped up next to his other side in silence. The little guy was still blaming himself for the Tailmon attack. Koushiro was sitting across, looking a bit winded. These forest treks had to be brutal for him. "Are you sure you're okay?" Agumon asked. Taichi was about to answer when he looked down on himself. It wasn't pretty, all the dried blood covering his body. _Looks like I lost a knife fight.__ No wonder I'm feeling so wiped out._

"Looks worse than it is," he assured his partner, "Too much moving around after Tailmon got me. Jou'll take care of this when we get back."

"And you're going to be taking it easy for the next while," Sora added with a slight edge to her voice.

"Yes, mother," Taichi responded, rolling his eyes. It wasn't like he had a choice. Whatever that creepy purple sky was, it did nothing to stop the sun's rays. Going outside the forest with his shirt in this state was a major sunburn waiting to happen.

"And I'll see what I can do about your shirt," Sora continued as Piyomon and Tentomon flew in one of the trolley's window openings, "Piyomon and I looked into a few buildings while we waited for your call. It looks like we found some sort of textile factory and, somehow, Piyomon knows the machines. I'll need Koushiro-kun's help but they have access points so we might be able to work them."

"Don't ask me how I know them," the bird said with a shrug as she settled down on Sora's lap, "My feathers are all I need." Tentomon set down next to Koushiro.

"Maybe it uses Piyomon feathers?" Agumon suggested. Piyomon bristled.

"Not _my_ feathers!"

"We found some fabrics there, too," Sora continued, smiling at her partner, "so I should be able to do something."

"You can really do that?" Koushiro asked, sounding pretty impressed.

"In theory, I guess?" she answered with a shrug, "I mean, I know how to patch. Being friends with Taichi forced me to learn some new skills." Taichi shot her a glare.

"Hey! You're making me sound like a walking disaster! Besides, you hated that dress!"

"Not as much as I hated how much everyone got to see! And my mother loved that dress!"

"And I got you out of wearing it!" He made sure to finish with a grin she hated. She rewarded him with a look promising violence that he'd long stopped taking seriously.

"Um excuse me," Tentomon interrupted, "I just feel I should inform you that us digimon either don't wear clothes, or our evolutions supply them. Manufactured clothing is not created for protection against the elements but rather for the special properties within the fabrics. I would suggest you and Koushiro-han find a way to test them first."

"I would assume the DigiScanner will help with that," Koushiro said. Sora gave Taichi an apologetic look.

"Looks like I'll need a few days," she said. He just nodded. _No biggie. We've only been here a day or two… _No, that wasn't right. He did it again! He couldn't understand why, but ever since coming to the Digital World, time became almost impossible to track. _We've been here for weeks! Maybe even a month!_ That was a depressing thought. A month here. A month away from home. A month away from his sister. From Hikari. They had to think he was dead and poor Hikari lost not only him, but Sora and TK too. He needed to get back to her. To show her he wasn't gone. _To see Phantomon's illusion was just an illusion._

"Stop that," Sora whispered, "I know that look. Everything Phantomon showed us was a lie and Hika's stronger than you think." Taichi nodded, forcing his thoughts back to reality. _Panicking won't get us back home. Won't get me back to Hikari. If there's a way here, there's a way back, and I'll find it even if I have to beat it out of Wardens with my own hands._

"Let's just get going," he said. Sora nodded, her face saying she understood.

"I'm ready too," Koushiro said as he got up. Taichi slowly stood back up, feeling his legs wobble a little, and followed the younger boy and Tentomon out the trolley's rear. Sora was right behind with Piyomon. Agumon was next to him, occasionally looking at him, like he was trying to come up with a way to make the trip down the stairs a little easier. _Do I really look that bad?_

A couple floors later, Taichi could only assume the answer was "yes", as he slowly hobbled each stair, one at a time. Koushiro was actually stopping at points to let him catch up! "Did I really look this bad the last few buildings?"

"Well, you didn't exactly look good," Sora answered, "I think Tailmon got you worse than you think." His body throbbed in agreement.

"You may be right," he admitted with a sigh, "We have to work something out. No one leaves the forest until we do."

"Agreed," Sora said with a nod. Taichi continued working his way down the stairs, not really paying attention to the floors as he passed them. Each one just contained scattered furniture, shelves, and other things. In truth, he really tried not to pay attention to what the buildings contained. It was depressing, seeing these signs of a thriving population that were completely wiped out so very abruptly. Depressing and scary, actually, considering the inhabitants clearly did not see it coming at all. And with the buildings perfectly intact? What could even have been capable of that? Was it the Wardens? Phantomon, in hindsight, really wasn't that impressive, but- no, wait. If not for the angel bailing them out, Phantomon would've won. Did whatever ruined File also kill the Harmonious Ones? _Why am I asking this?! I don't want to know! I just want to get back to Hikari!_

"Taichi, what is it?" Sora's worried voice interrupted his thoughts.

"This place is messing with me," he admitted, "Now that I'm not rushing through, I keep thinking about what could've done this. And what's being expected of us?"

"Survive until we find a way to get you home," Agumon answered, "That's all that matters."

"Yeah…" he nodded, not satisfied with that answer. _But if we do get home, what about you?_ He did not want to abandon Agumon, or any of the other digimon. They were some of the best friends any of the children ever had. But at the same time, he had to get back to Hikari, if for no other reason than to make absolutely certain Phantomon never touched her.

After what felt like days, Taichi finally exited the building. Just a simple path now. It was rather twisty with the trees and roots forming a virtual wall of wood, or "treewall" as the children had taken to calling it, but no surprises on the way. He heard a CoreBlaster firing a few shots and tensed up. _Don't panic._ Another volley. And then another. Just Ishida practicing. Every time someone left the campsite, Ishida made a point of standing guard. Taichi was not looking forward to seeing him, not in this condition. Didn't help that he could still feel Sora's eyes on him, despite the worst being long over. There were a few smaller roots to step over, but tripping over one would just be a bruise or two. Sure, his legs felt like weights, but- _Who am I kidding? Sora's not getting off my back until Jou gets his turn._

Making the path's second to last turn, Taichi found Ishida sitting on a larger root while Gabumon tossed a small rock into the air. With CoreBlaster's power turned down, the rock would just get pushed a little when hit, making for some surprisingly difficult target practice. Ishida's bolts shot past the rock, clean misses, but as tempting as it was, Taichi wasn't going to call him out on it. At least not with his aim being just as bad.

Ishida looked up as Gabumon picked up the unscathed rock. "Hold it, Gabumon," he said "they're back." The lizard- dog- whatever Gabumon was supposed to be looked over at the group.

"Welcome ba- oh my!" His eyes widened and Taichi's face heated with irritation. He liked Gabumon, but he really didn't want this attention from anyone. Especially Ishida's partner.

"What the hell happened to Yagami?!" Ishida asked.

"Tailmon blindsided us," Koushiro answered, "I believe we underestimated her. Again." _Count on Koushiro to not mention my blunder._

"Taichi-san!" an excited voice sounded. Taichi felt a bit of energy return as TK came running around the final turn. Hanging on to his hat was Tsukaimon. "You're back!"

"TK! What are you doing here?!" Ishida snapped. TK stopped, Tsukaimon nearly falling off.

"I-I'm sorry, Yama," he stammered, "I-I just w-wanted to see Taichi-san and-"

"And look what that idiot got himself into!" Ishida said, pointing at Taichi, "What if he lead Tailmon right back here?!"

"Cram it, Ishida!" Taichi shot back, "You know we're more careful than that!"

"Both of you, shut up!" Sora shouted and hurried over to a stricken looking TK. Taichi felt a bust of guilt seeing the kid like that. "Don't let their fighting bother you, okay? They're just being idiots."

"Y-Yeah, sorry TK," Taichi apologized, "It's not your fault Ishida's a- that Ishida and I don't get along."

"I just don't want you here, TK," Ishida said, "It's too dangerous. You need to stay back at the camp with the others."

"Oh, come on. He just wanted to get away from Mimi, right?" He smiled at TK and the smaller boy visibly relaxed as they started moving towards the camp and looked like he considering his words carefully.

"Mimi-san's fun to play with," he said, "but she calls me weird names and gives me really tight hugs that make it hard to breathe." Like Sora said, TK had become the princess' teddy bear. Taichi thought she'd have let up after a while, but even after all these days- _weeks._ He sighed. _I did it again. Why do I keep forgetting how long I've been here?_

"I'll bet you prefer Hika's hugs, don't you?" Sora asked with a smile. _What?_ What were they talking about? What did Hikari's hugs have to do with it? Sure she hugged TK often. Before the divorce, whenever TK's parents' fighting started to get real bad, he would be taken over to the Yagamis. Hikari was always told TK was very sad and needed lots of hugs. She didn't understand what was happening but she still made it her mission to cheer him up every time he came over. _But why is Sora bringing that up? In fact, how did she even know? I'm pretty sure he never told her._

"Hers are soft," TK said, his face starting to redden a little. And Sora got that weird happy look. Taichi wasn't sure what was going on, but he really didn't like it. Tsukaimon looked curious. The only thing he knew about Hikari was she was a friend of TK's, but he understood that they couldn't talk about her now. Thinking about her just made Taichi even more impatient and, while she'd deny it, he could see Sora wasn't much better. And then TK would really start missing her.

"Can we go back now?" Tsukaimon asked, "This place is creepy."

"Sure thing, Purple Tokomon," Taichi answered. Tsukaimon was still in denial over his evolution and the children agreed it would be best to humor him. Otherwise TK would try to use his digivice to "correct" it.

Turning that last corner, the more than welcome sight of the campsite came into view. It was a small clearing with a good number of normal sized trees scattered around, all surrounded by the treewall. Somewhere between half and two thirds of the clearing were taken up by a lake. No animals so far, though that wasn't surprising, given the state of everything outside the forest. The larger trees behind the treewall towered over, their canopy leaves were somehow thinner here, allowing enough light in to feel like daytime.

Somewhere around the middle of the lake was a hideous wooden mass. When looking at it from atop Birdramon and Kabuterimon, it looked like a swollen, gnarled tree that had been hunched over. Just looking at it made Taichi's back ache. Surrounding it were four wooden bulges that looked like they were part of the mass but it was really hard to tell. The lake's far shore was completely overtaken by the treewall making the current shore the only livable spot. Two rivers on opposing sides, one feeding into the lake, the other draining away, could just barely be seen through the wooden mess. The layout had convinced Koushiro that none of this forest was natural.

On the far end of the campsite was an old building that had a number of beds. Dirty, but better than sleeping on the ground. Opposite to the lake shore, however, was some sort of chapel that looked like it extended past the treewall. It looked important but after Phantomon, Taichi was content to stay away from fancy old buildings. Besides, the doors had a lock that even Koushiro couldn't make sense of. Greymon could break through them obviously, but everyone had agreed not to cause any damage. It wasn't their forest after all.

And standing right in front of the campsite's entrance was Mimi, hands on her hips, and an annoyed yet amused expression she often had when she was ready to tease someone. "There you are," she called out, "Honestly, leaving a lady alone like that." She glared at Ishida. "Little Teekies-chan gets it from, you know."

"I'm not Teekies," TK protested, "And I'm not little. And I'm not a chan."

"Later, Mimi-san," Sora said, "We need to get Taichi to Jou-kun." Uh oh. He'd forgot about that.

"I-It's really not that bad!" he protested, "Let's not bother Jou! I mean supplies are limited and-"

"Shut up," she said, grabbing his hand and dragging him to wherever Jou was waiting.

* * *

_Whoever invented disinfectant should be drug out into the street and shot._ Taichi laid against one of the scattered trees, against Jou's wishes. Jou wanted him in bed and his body agreed, his body now throbbing and burning. At least his cuts weren't infected, though Taichi really wasn't certain the bandages were necessary. But he had too much to think about to sleep now. Namely, the Tailmon problem and any answers he came up he wanted to run by Sora, Koushiro, and even Ishida.

Next to him was Agumon, leaning against his tail, causing Taichi to feel a little envious of that otherwise bulky appendage. Koushiro was sitting nearby, still working on his laptop, with Tentomon watching in silence. Jou was next to Koushiro, still trying to calm himself down from the sight of Taichi's injuries, Pukamon looking to be both helping and trying not to laugh. Jou actually kept his composure pretty well, considering. Ishida was also nearby, sitting with Gabumon and watching TK, who was back in Mimi's clutches. That kid had the patience of a saint. Sora was attempting to rescue him. Piyomon, Tanemon, and Tsukaimon were simply watching. They knew not to get involved in the Sora-Mimi fights.

"Seriously, Mimi-san," Sora said, "You really need to give TK-kun some breathing room. He doesn't need you clinging to him all the time." Mimi stood up and TK ran over to Taichi. Ishida stood and moved closer to Taichi with a glare, Gabumon following right behind._You shouldn't have yelled at him._ For the millionth time, he wondered just how a jerk like Ishida could be TK's stayed where he was, apparently too interested in the fight to notice. Taichi didn't blame him.

"Come off it, Sora-san," Mimi said, "You're just jealous because he likes me more. You probably confuse him with how much of a boy girl you are." Taichi immediately put a hand on TK's shoulder, before the boy could speak up.

"Just stay quiet," he whispered, "Never get involved when girls fight."

"Yagami-kun's right for once," Ishida added.

"Better than being a spoiled princess," Sora countered, "I have experience with kids his age-"

"I'm sure you do," Mimi said with a dark grin. Sora's eyes widened as she started visibly trying to think of something she'd say in front of TK. Taichi couldn't help but grin himself. _This is going to be a good one._

"I'm sorry!" TK suddenly blurted out, "I-I didn't mean to make you fight!" Oh, right. TK had a habit of blaming himself when others fought around him. According to Taichi's mother, it was probably an effect of the divorce.

Sora and Mimi both looked at TK, guilt on both their faces. "I'm sorry, TK-kun," Sora said, "I know I shouldn't talk for you like that."

"And I just get a bit excited," Mimi said, "being your favorite girl and all." Uh, what? Sora looked at Mimi with the same question in her eyes.

"What do you mean? I play with him too, you know."

"But how many boys get to play with a beauty like me?" Mimi taunted, "He likes me more." Seriously?

"They're fighting over a seven year old," Taichi found himself mumbling.

"Seven and a half," TK corrected.

"Well, he is the only real boyfriend material here," Mimi said matter of factly. _What?!_

"Can't really argue with that," Sora agreed with a nod._ Again, what?! _Taichi looked down on TK, the seven and half year old's face looking a bit red. Koushiro and Jou looked absolutely fascinated by the whole thing. And Ishida… _Nope! No Ishida here! Or anywhere!_

"I like Hika-chan best!" TK suddenly blurted out. Everything fell silent. Sora, once again, had the annoying happy look Taichi was quickly learning to hate. Mimi looked the happiest he'd had ever seen her.

"Who's Hika-chan?" she asked. _Okay, time to change the subject._

"I'm thinking our little excursions outside are going to have to stop for now," Taichi said, "Tailmon's been too ready for us."

"Who's Hika-chan?"

"I agree," Sora said, evidently catching on Taichi's cue, "Jou-kun and I have been talking. We really need to take a better look at that chapel." Taichi tried not to grimace. Part of him did agree that they really should learn more about the chapel; they slept so close to it after all. But at the same time, the thought of opening the doors, disturbing whatever lay in there, only gave him flashbacks to Phantomon. The big pentagon in the sky did promise four others like him after all.

"Who's Hika-chan?"

"We just want to examine the lock," Jou assured, seemingly aware of Taichi's distress, "I doubt we'll get it open but if we do, we'll just a take quick look. I'm hoping for information on this forest, specifically the types of plants. I don't know a lot about medicinal plants, but I do know a little. And I believe Sora-san's botanical knowledge will be helpful too." Botanical?

"What does boating have to do with plants?" Taichi asked. Everyone fell silent.

"Who's Hika-chan?" Except Mimi. And the looks Sora and Ishida were giving Taichi made him want to punch them.

"Botany is plants," Sora said at last.

"Shouldn't it be plantany, then?" he asked.

"Who's Hika-chan?"

"Look, Jou-kun and I going to start examining the chapel," Sora said, impatience filling her voice.

"I guess that settles it," Taichi said, "Well I'm staying horizontal. Tmail if you need a forest fire. And I know I'm the last person in the world to say this, but be careful." Sora gave him a nod as she and Jou started towards the chapel. Mimi stepped right in their way, with the same happy expression as before.

"Who's Hika-chan?" _Get a hobby!_ Oh, right. TK _was_ her hobby. That and being a royal pain.

"Her name is Hikari," Sora answered in an irritated tone, "and she's Taichi's little sister."

"Teeks-chan has a girlfriend?!" Mimi squealed.

"No, no, no!" Taichi exclaimed, almost sitting up, his screaming back pulling him back down.

"He's just seven and a half!" Sora said, "You are way too into those romance books." One look at the other girl showed she was beyond reasoning. She looked liked she'd discovered a pile of buried treasure or something. In fact, Taichi could swear he saw small stars in her eyes.

"How old is she?" This was seriously the happiest Taichi ever heard the girl speak. Ironically enough, other than the Phantomon nightmare, he couldn't recall being less happy than he was now.

"My _baby sister_ is about six to seven months older," he answered, in the unlikely hope that by putting emphasis on "baby sister", the princess would take the hint.

"So, our little Romeo's scored an older woman?!" Aaargh! _What's wrong with you?! It's ten years to soon to even think about __Hik__ari having a bo… a bo… __a bo… __a male person she's extra close to! Besides! TK's at the cooties age- oh, who am I kidding? Sora and Mimi immunized him. But he's just her friend! He's not ready either! Deep breaths. Deep breaths._

"So what is this Hika-chan like?" Mimi asked, clearly ignoring Taichi's panic attack.

"Her name is Hikari, and she's the sweetest little girl in the world." Sora answered in a very forced even tone. She too valued Hikari's chastity.

"And way, way, way too young for bo… a bo… a bo…" he attempted to add.

"She was supposed to be at camp with us," Sora continued, "but she got sick."

Mimi looked a bit confused. "Okay, but if she's Taichi-san's sister, how are she and TK friends? Doesn't he live far away?"

"It's not bad if you're driving," Ishida answered, "They met before the divorce, when TK was three, and whenever he comes to visit me and Dad, he always makes time for her. In fact..." He gave Taichi a grin that turned his blood ice cold, "sometimes it feels like he's more excited about seeing her than me." _I will kill you in your sleep, Ishida!_

"Well, then," Mimi started in a victorious tone, "That just leaves one more question, then, doesn't it? Does Hika-chan like any boys as much as TK?" There was no good answer to that one. For one thing, she was very frail and got sick often, naturally making her a target for bullies. Other than himself, Sora and TK were the only friends she had.

On the other hand, there was the way her face lit up whenever TK was coming to Odaiba. She had clothes she only wore when he was visiting. Then there was that awful conversation between her and their mother about the difference between boyfriends and friends who were boys that Taichi was desperate to forget ever happened.

"TK-chan, when we get back," Mimi said, "You are going to introduce me to Hika-chan."

"Um, Hikari's brother over here," her reminded, "I can-"

"I want TK-chan to do it," she interrupted.

"B-But Hika-chan g-gets scared when I'm t-talking to an-another girl," TK stammered. Mimi's eyes lit up even more, if that was even possible.

"She's the jealous type?!" her voice reached a pitch that was more than a little unpleasant, "She sounds so adorable! I have to meet her! I have to!"

"Hika-chan thinks I'm gonna stop liking her," TK rambled on, "so have to like her best and I do like her best and I don't want to make her sad and-"

"We get it, TK-kun," Sora said, "You're a real good friend to her." Taichi felt a new appreciation for the little boy. _I knew TK was a good friend, but I had no idea he was that sensitive to her._ Somehow, TK was at least partially aware of the kind of support Hikari needed. And he was giving it! Maybe, just maybe, if she did end up liking him, Taichi could accept it. _Yeah, maybe even just nine and a half years from now they might be ready._

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Afterword: That last conversation is one of the first things I wrote for this series. I couldn't wait to add it in.


	9. Order of the Green 02

Sora looked back at the others. Taichi, with his talent of being able to sleep anywhere, had fallen asleep on the ground with Agumon watching over him. Koushiro was still working on his laptop, wanting to understand why its battery was perpetually full, but he was taking occasional glances at Taichi. Good to know her idiot of a best friend had someone looking after him while she was gone. Mimi and TK were having some sort of stick fight. As obnoxious as the other girl was, Sora had to admit she was a very good friend to TK. And it was pretty surprising to see the pampered princess playing so roughly. Tsukaimon and Tanemon were… betting leaves? Okay. And Yamato? He was watching- no, make that glaring. Ugh.

"Is everything okay?" Jou asked. Sora let out a sigh and looked at him.

"Go ahead of me, will you?" she asked, "I need to talk to Yamato-kun about something."

"Uh, sure," Jou sounded a little confused. She looked at Piyomon.

"Uh, Piyomon, this is going to be very personal, so can you please go with Jou?"

"It would be easier if I wasn't there?" Piyomon asked, a hint of sadness in her voice. Just enough to make Sora hate herself for even considering this request.

"I'm really sorry, Piyomon, but this is going to be a very delicate thing for Yamato-kun to discuss." _And I'm not exactly good at this._ She had to fight the memories of her attempts at trying to talk to Taichi about the Mistake, leading to their worst fights by far. Hopefully talking to Yamato would be easier. He was more mature, after all, and it wasn't like he had anything to do with the divorce.

Piyomon's face lit up a bit. "So it's not about you?!" Sora blinked in surprise, mostly at herself for forgetting how single-minded their partners tended to be.

"Of course not." She gave the little a bird a smile. "I'd never keep anything about myself from you." Piyomon's face brightened right up.

"Oh! Okay! Um, I'll go make sure Pukamon doesn't bug Jou too much!" Piyomon still sounded a little disappointed but at least she understood it was for Yamato's sake. Sora turned her attention back to him and took a deep breath and started towards him.

"Hey, Yamato-kun?" He looked up at her, his expression saying he wasn't in the mood for talking. _Go easy. Don't push._ She remembered her final, and worst, attempt at talking about the Mistake. Taichi got so mad, he punched her, but the expression on his face showed that she had managed to hurt him far more. _Remember, _y_ou're picking at a wound here._

"What is it?" He barely managed to hide his bad mood.

"I'd like to discuss something with you," she looked over at TK and Mimi, "Privately, if it's okay." She would've preferred not to have Gabumon there too, but that wasn't her choice to make. Oh well, Gabumon was very levelheaded, so maybe his presence would be a good thing.

"Fine," Yamato responded, looking back at TK and Mimi. His voice lowered to an angry whisper. "Not like I'm needed here." _Go easy on him._ She lead him some ways away, over to another tree, where they wouldn't be overheard.

"It's about TK-kun," she started, "and why he was-"

"It doesn't matter why he was there!" he snapped, "It was dangerous! You saw the condition Yagami-kun was in!" This was not going to be easy.

"I agree, he shouldn't have. But I just mean why he went in the first place."

"I know why he went," he growled, glaring at Taichi.

"That isn't it," Sora tried to reason, "TK-kun does look up to Taichi-"

"Of course he does! And the idiot encourages him!" What?! Okay, now Sora was getting mad. Yamato knew full well that Taichi never encouraged TK to do anything dangerous.

"No, he doesn't, and you know it!" She forced herself to calm down. _Don't lose it. Remember, you're trying to help him. Not win an argument._ She found herself looking at the back of his head, his body almost statue-like and his fists tightly clenching, making his rage obvious. And he was looking in Taichi's direction._This is a lot more than just their personalities clashing. _It was almost like Yamato truly hated Taichi, but Sora refused to believe that. He was bad tempered, sure, but not hateful."Why are you so mad at him?" she asked.

He was suddenly facing her a with fiery glare, causing her to take a step back. "You saw the condition that idiot came back in! All because of his own stupidity, too, right?! Koushiro-kun isn't exactly a good liar! I don't even want think about what he's teaching TK!"

"TK-kun saw the injuries!" Sora countered, "He's smart and you know that! And Taichi?! He knows better than anyone what it means to be a role model! He won't even watch a movie unless it's something he'd be okay with Hikari or TK-kun watching!"

"Of course! The great Yagami-kun!" he threw his arms up, "How _dare_ I question Perfect Brother Yagami-kun! I mean, I've only known TK his entire life!"

"But you're gone for so much of it!" She immediately clamped her hands over her mouth. How could she say that?! The look of shame and rage on Yamato's made her want to kick herself. "I-I'm sorry! I didn't mean- look, it's like with Taichi and Hikari-"

"I'm sorry I can't be a perfect brother like Yagami-kun!" he growled and turned away from her.

"I'm not saying that, Yamato-kun!" she pleaded, "TK-kun thinks the world of you but when you get mad like that, you scare him! You make him think-"

"I'm a lousy big brother! I get it! You made your point!" Yamato stormed off towards the building. Gabumon gave an apologetic look and followed.

"You make him think you don't want him around," she found herself finishing. Staring helplessly at the building, she felt tears roll down her cheek, and turned away, looking back at TK who was still playing with Mimi. How could she have said something so cruel?! She was supposed healing that wound, not pouring salt over it! And then there was the fact that of all traits Yamato could have shared with Taichi, it had to be their complete obliviousness, if not outright denial, to how much their younger siblings loved them. And while Taichi's overcompensating was one thing, Yamato was making TK think he didn't want him around. Whenever he scolded the boy, TK would start thinking Yamato was going to start hating him if he kept bothering him. _And if Yamato-kun doesn't realize this, TK-kun will s__top "bothering" him altogether__._

"Sora? Did everything go okay?" Piyomon's voice sounded behind her. She turned back around to see a very concerned looking pink bird. "I saw Yamato and he looked real upset. Gabumon told me not to ask. Did something happen?" Sora managed a weak smile.

"We kinda got into an argument," she answered, "and I ended up saying something really, really thoughtless to him. Something really mean." She almost added a crack about Taichi rubbing off on her but stopped herself. Even Taichi at his worst wouldn't have brought up how little of TK Yamato got to see. _How could I forget? Yamato-kun __was a__round__ Hika'__s age__ when his parents divorced. __That had to affect him._

"But you're so nice!" Piyomon protested, "It couldn't have been that bad!" Sora shook her head. How to say this? How much did she even have a right to say? _I'll just be very vague._

"Something bad happened to Yamato-kun a long time ago," she explained, "I can't say what. It's too personal, but it hurt him very badly. And I didn't even think of that when I brought it up." Just like with Taichi and the Mistake. Why was she so bad at this?

Piyomon wrapped her wings around Sora in a hug. "I'm sure Yamato will forgive you. You're just too nice to be mean and he knows that." Sora returned the hug, feeling more than a little grateful that this little bird was her partner. The two headed towards the chapel with Jou and Pukamon waiting. Jou was examining the door. **Um, Yamato-kun? I'm going to help examine the door now. Can you please be ready in case we open it?** Normally it was a pointless question, but…

** Fine. I'll remain on call.** He actually answered. That was a relief, though she felt a little ashamed at doubting he would. In the days-_ weeks,_ she'd known him, he never once came off as the type who would turn his back on others, no matter how mad he got.

_That's the easy part done._ She took a deep breath, mentally preparing herself for the apology Tmail she owed him. Apologies, she felt, should always be in person, but if she looked at Yamato now, and saw how much pain she caused him, she'd lose her nerve. A Tmail was her only option.

**And listen, Yamato-kun, I am so, so, so sorry about what I said. I didn't even mean it that way. ****I just meant that TK-kun doesn't know you as w****ell**** as you think. When you scold him like that, he gets scared. He doesn't realize how much you love him. Just let him in.** No response. Well, she tried. Maybe it would at least calm him down a little._I'll apologize again later. In person._

* * *

Jou sighed as he stared at the massive doorway before him. It was a gigantic rounded door made of a dark metal that opened in the center. The tops of both halves each had some kind of symbol but they were violently scratched off. The digivices- _other's digivices, _he angrily reminded himself (because, of course, he, the oldest, wouldn't be able to use his) couldn't translate the damaged symbols but studying them Jou could tell they weren't the same symbol.

In the middle of the doorway was a large ring of six other symbols the digivices translated as Courage, Friendship, Love, Knowledge, Purity, and Reliability. They weren't defaced but the ring itself was with some crudely scratched in writing in the center. Jou had no idea what the writing was but the digivices managed to translate it.

**Danced we****s**** in joys and triumphs**

**over the Deads****ie ****Metal ****and Falsie Plastic****.**

**With us the ****Woodsiemon****  
****danced the ****F****oolsie ****U****nlifemon.****Rose the storms in shouty glee,****  
****the darkness in feary ****shades****,****  
****the fires in happy greed.****Danced we****s**** away, and fed the sad****dy****  
****U****nlife****m****o****n-****f****ool****s**** to their****  
****devourings for our thanks.**

None of the children had any idea what any of it meant and to be honest, Jou was perfectly okay with that. In fact, if there was one bright spot about his digivice problems, it was not stumbling across more of that creepy writing and actually reading it. Besides, with it added on the way it was, it probably didn't matter. Just symbols did.

The symbols were a way to open the door. Jou was positive of that, but he just couldn't find out how. He angrily clenched his fists. It was so frustrating not being able to do this little thing. It wasn't right! Taichi was taking charge and keeping everyone together! Yamato was silently watching over everyone! Koushiro was just so smart! And yet, here was Jou, the oldest, and he couldn't even figure out how to open a stupid door! _A stupid door that probably doesn't even having anything behind it, with my luck! __Or some kind of monster!_

"One of the symbols is glowing!" Pukamon pointed out, "The usual one!" This happened sometimes. A certain symbol would just start glowing whenever Jou started to feel his frustration. Reliability, apparently, but he really didn't care since the doorway remained sealed. He just wanted to know what was behind the door they were all sleeping so close to.

He looked away from the door in time to see a pretty crestfallen Sora with Piyomon perched on her shoulder coming over. "Um, are you okay?" he asked, "Did things not go well with Yamato-san?" She let out a sigh and put a hand on the door.

"Did you have any luck?" she asked. Jou shook his head, overlooking the topic change. If she didn't want to talk about it, he wasn't going to push. It wasn't like he was good at this type of thing.

"Still nothing. I got that usual symbol to light up but nothing else." Sora fell silent. Jou looked at her and she clearly wasn't thinking about the door. Well, fine. It was pretty much a lost cause anyhow.

"I said something really terrible to Yamato-kun," she suddenly said.

"Not on purpose!" Piyomon added.

"It doesn't matter," Sora said, "I should never have said it." She sighed. "I just can't stand watching Yamato-kun messing up things with TK-kun." Jou took a breath to calm his nervousness. He didn't know why she was telling him when seconds earlier she avoided the topic. Did she actually want advice from him? Or was she just venting and he just needed to stay quiet and listen? He could never tell these things and, in his admittedly limited experience, girls didn't take it too well when he guessed wrong.

"Why don't you just let him figure it out for himself?" Pukamon asked. Jou inwardly winced at the complete lack of tact. But Sora merely shook her head with a sad smile.

"It'll be too late by then," she answered, "and besides, he's always watching over us and that can't be easy. If I can at least let him stop worrying so much about his relationship with TK-kun, I should."

"But why?" Pukamon asked, "I mean, it doesn't sound like it concerns you."

"He's my friend," Sora answered in a firm tone, "That makes it my concern." She placed a hand on the doorway and lowered her head. "I won't just sit when my friends are hurting like that."

"A symbol's lighting up!" Piyomon interrupted. Jou and Sora stepped back from the doorway while Piyomon hopped off Sora's shoulder and began flapping her wings. One of the symbols had lit up.

"That one means Love," Sora said. The two lights began to move towards the center of the circle and melted together forming a new one. "Protectiveness?" With a _creak_ the doorway started to swing open. Jou started to place himself between Sora and whatever was inside, but she moved faster and was right in front of him. He clenched his fist, knowing full well he had no business taking point. Sora had the DigiScanner, the weapons, and evolution. All he had to offer was his allergies. But still, the only thing worse than having to hide behind a girl was hiding behind a younger one.

A cloud of dust emerged from the doorway, bringing its own itching powder right into Jou's nose and eyes. "Are you okay?" Sora asked after his third sneeze.

"Uh, f-fine," Jou answered, trying to ignore how watery his eyes were getting. Hopefully the tears would get that stuff out.

"Jou and plants just don't get along," Pukamon said.

"You know I only mentioned us working on the door to get Mimi-san off TK-kun's back, right?" Sora reminded, "If you're not up to it-"

"I'll be fine!" Jou interrupted, ignoring the growing burning itching in his eyes, "I mean, we sleep so close to this place! We need to know what's in here!" And he wasn't about to turn down a chance to finally do something other than apply some bandages and worry. He focused his eyes on the mess of green covering the floor inside. Grass, clover, and other weeds. Even a few flowers. Thick enough he'd have to walk carefully to avoid tripping over anything hidden.

"The DigiScanner's not picking up anything," Sora pointed out, "It should be safe." She started inside with Piyomon flying just ahead. Jou slowly followed with Pukamon next to him. His eyes quickly fell on the remains of the wall ahead, through the vines dangling from the ceiling. It was just one piece sticking up with what looked like stems or roots digging into its sides, like they were growing from it. And now that he was looking, they had some sort of faint green light pulsing through. That couldn't be natural.

Focusing back on the stone, he noticed some sort of image in its center. Moving closer, he found it was a crudely scratched dark-looking mass with a circle containing a symbol in the center. Poking out of the scratchings were six lines spreading out, like they were originally spreading from one source. On each of the six lines was a circle with one of the symbols from doors outside.

"These symbols must be important," Jou said.

"To whoever ruled File before and the Wardens," Sora added, "That new one means Darkness. I wonder what was there before." Good question. The scratchings were large enough to cover two, maybe even three of those lines stacked on top of each other. Maybe it involved those scratched out symbols on the top of the doors?

Stifling another sneeze, Jou looked around. It was dark. Very dark, almost looking like night, though he could see traces of that faint light coming off of the trees and plants, somehow making the place seem darker. He looked back through the entrance. Still daylight.

"That leaf canopy sure got thick in a hurry," he said, praying that's all it was.

"And right past that slab," Sora added, "Maybe this is the darkness it meant? I wonder how those smaller trees are surviving?" Jou had to wonder too. There were quite a few normal sized trees he could see and, while it was hard to tell in the dark, they did seem healthy. Was the Warden of Life sustaining them? The much larger trees were off in the distance, shadowy pillars serving as a warning not to approach. Numerous strange looking plants were scattered around though Jou couldn't be certain if they just looked that way from the strange light.

_Wait a minute! __T__here are no walls!_ Looking around, the wall holding the doorway and the piece of the rear wall were all that was left. Other than that, he could see the treewall extending into the distance from both sides. "The, uh, treewall is a bit thinner than I thought," he commented, trying to hide his growing panic.

"Still stronger than steel," Sora responded, staring at a river going from the left to behind the wall fragment, "but you're right though. I don't think the stone this chapel or whatever is made of will be nearly as strong as the treewall." Jou grimaced and looked up to see if they at least had a ceiling. He really couldn't say. It was dark and vines were hanging everywhere. He sneezed again.

A brighter green light caught his attention. It was coming from the slab! He felt his body freeze up as Sora stepped in front of him. "Stay behind me," she ordered. Both Piyomon and Pukamon flew in front of her.

"But-" he started to protest but stopped, instead settling on cursing his own helplessness and backing away. The slab brightened further and it suddenly gave off a flash right in Jou's face. "Gah!" he screamed and fell back.

"Jou!" Sora and Pukamon both cried out. She knelt over him, fearful concern filling hers and Pukamon's faces.

"Are you okay?!" Pukamon asked.

"Th-That beam!" Sora stammered.

"I-I think-" Jou panted. He stopped talking and focused on taking slow, deep breaths. As he calmed down, he began to notice how nice the grass was to lie on. If it wasn't for the creepy, snake-like vines covering what hoped was a ceiling, it would actually be kind of nice in here. It hit him. "My allergies! They're gone!" He was breathing perfectly clearly!

"Hang on," Sora said, her eyes starting to look distance, "Okay, the DigiScanner is saying that you were struck with some sort of healing energy. A very powerful energy. No harmful side effects." Jou blinked as he stood back up.

"So that light cured my allergies?" He wasn't sure how he felt about that. Sure, it was great being able to breathe in here and actually take in this surprisingly pleasant air, but he wasn't sure he liked the idea of strange lights tampering with his body.

"I guess so, but we should get out of here, just in case that light gets any other ideas." Sora sounded as panicked as he felt. Disappointing as it was, this was about as much as Jou could do now. Now it was time to let the younger kids take over and do the actual dangerous stuff.

"Help!" a distant voice cried out. Jou looked at Sora. She heard it too. "I could really use some help here!"

"I have to check this," she said.

"But-" he protested. It didn't sound that far, but it was still in that darkness.

"We don't have any friends here," she pointed out, "We can't waste chances like this." With that, she hurried off along the river behind the stone slab, in the direction of the shouting. With an inward groan, Jou found himself following her.

* * *

Sora hurried as much as she dared in the direction of the voice down the dark path, grateful for Scout Mode's night vision. She didn't have the map up; it would clutter her vision too much, but it would still fill in. She did have the DigiScanner going but it wasn't turning up anything. Was this forest blocking it somehow? That was a comforting thought. Piyomon was ahead of her and she made sure remain partially concentrated on the evolution command in case it was needed. Of course, this wasn't exactly a good environment for Birdramon, but it would still be better than nothing.

The DigiScanner finally turned something up! It showed an image of a small, blue, humanoid, reptilian digimon called Veemon. Veemon didn't have any real powers but their small bodies carried considerable strength. And she was just starting to be able to make out some sort of mass.

"Again!" the voiced from the mass' direction, "I could really use some help here!" She pressed on and the mass became the Veemon tangled up in some extremely long grass.

"I'll take care of it," Piyomon said and bolted on ahead. A burst of hot wind later and the grass retreated, shrinking into the ground. "Tanglegrass," Piyomon said, "It's annoying but it can't handle heat."

"It tried to eat me!" Veemon complained, slowly standing up.

"Tanglegrass can't eat digimon," Pukamon said, making Sora jump slightly, "We're too big." And if Pukamon was here, so would Jou. Oh boy. She wasn't exactly surprised but if a fight broke out, he wouldn't be any help.

"Someone forgot to tell the grass that," Veemon grumbled and then looked at Piyomon, "Anyways, thanks for saving me."

"No biggie," Piyomon answered with a proud smile. Veemon looked at Sora and his eyes widened?

"Humans? Here? Now?"

"Um, hi?" Sora really didn't know what to make of that reaction. "Is it normal for humans to come here?" Veemon shook his head.

"Uh, no. In fact there hasn't been any since, uh…" he trailed off, "well, really, really long ago. Back before the Wardens screwed up File so badly." His eyes lit up. "Oh yeah! Are you the ones who got rid Phantomon?!" Sora immediately went on guard.

"What do you mean?" she asked as innocently as she could.

"You know, creepy ghost in the palace? Warden of Death? The Warden of Life is really gonna wanna meet you! He hated Phantomon. I mean, really, really, hated him."

"So the Warden of Life isn't a bad guy?" Jou asked, stepping next to Sora.

"Does Warden of Life sound evil?" Veemon laughed, "Seriously the Warden of Life created this little paradise. Okay, so the plants are a little psycho, but the not-plants aren't really much better. The Wardens are supposed be Server's guardians!"

"That's the continent we're on, right?" Sora confirmed. Veemon nodded.

"It was a real nice place once. Well, a little of it still is," Veemon gave a shrug, "Way, way, way, way back there was a really big war. And I mean _big_." He stretched out his arms, emphasizing the size. "Lots and lots of digimon died. The Rebirth Cycle was so overloaded it couldn't save them all. Many were lost. And then some necromancers, and I mean real necromancers, not like that poseur Phantomon, gathered up all those lost digimon spirits and created a demon. The demon ended up burning Server to the ground before it was defeated. And between the losses and all the black magic users, most of us are still stuck in procreation mode."

"Procreation mode?" Jou asked.

"Yeah, you know, part A into slot B?" Sora's face heated right up at that little "explanation". Jou looked completely stunned. Piyomon and Pukamon were pretty red faced too.

"Th-That's not wh-what he meant!" Sora stammered. She was _so_ glad Taichi and TK were not here to hear that.

"Oh. _Oh._" Veemon's eyes lit up, "Sorry 'bout that. Thought you'd know by your age. In fact, you really should given that you're here without adult super-"

"Stop that!" Jou interrupted.

"They just know about the Rebirth Cycle!" exasperation filled Piyomon's voice, "Stop being so dirty minded!" Veemon blinked.

"Oh, that. Right. Um, okay. Us digimon can reproduce but it's supposed to be rare. I mean, if we're getting reborn our numbers are pretty stable. But with the whole black magic thing and Rebirth Cycle having a limit, well, sometimes our numbers need a little pick up now and then." He gave an annoyed sigh. "Or at least, that's how it's supposed to be. According to the stories, that war had us at the brink of extinction." Sora's mouth dried hearing that. _And given that the Rebirth Cycle needs digimon to maintain the wor__l__d…_

"The Digital World must be as messed up as Server," she said. Veemon nodded.

"The Wardens were given special blessings of Life, Death, Equality, Miracles, and Destiny, but Phantomon had his own plans. The Warden of Life is the only one who's made any real progress. And he really wants to meet you, so come with me!"

"Well, I suppose," Jou answered, his voice containing the doubt Sora felt. _We're here for weeks with no __contact with__ other digimon except __for the __Tailmon attacks, and now we suddenly have a guide? _And she didn't exactly trust that story either. _But it's not like we're in a position to argue. What if he is telling the truth?_

"Are you telling Koushiro-san or Yamato-san about this?" Jou whispered as they started to follow Veemon. Sora's jaw dropped at the realization. Jou's eyes widened. "You haven't told them?!" he hissed.

"I-I was distracted-" Sora started and stopped. There was no excuse for that kind of carelessness. _Did my brain shut down today or something?!_ Okay, she'd better Tmail either Koushiro or Yamato. She'd rather Koushiro but he was watching over Taichi. So Yamato then. "I'm contacting Yamato-san. You go on ahead so Veemon doesn't notice me." She looked at Piyomon. "Go ahead with Jou. He needs the extra protection more than I do."

"Right," Piyomon's answer was filled with her reluctance, but she did as she was told. And now Sora had to fill in Yamato on the many things he had just missed. _Way to go Sora. As if you hadn't given him enough reasons to be mad at you._ **Yamato-kun?**

** What is it?** She hoped she was only imagining the answer sounding so annoyed. **Did anything happen?**

** We somehow opened the door. And we found a native inside.**

** Just like that?** Oh boy. This was not going to be fun.

**No, it was a bit further in. The doorway leads outside the treewall.**

_**And you're just following a stranger into that jungle?! With Jou-**__**kun**__**?!**_ She could practically hear the shout. _**What **__**the hell**__** are you thinking?!**_

**I'm sorry! I-I wasn't thinking, and that other digimon, Veemon, he was calling for help! I couldn't ignore it! I mean, we have no friends here and-**

** I get it! I get it! ****I'm not mad, okay?! It's just that if something to you and Jou-kun, we'd have no way of knowing!**

** You're right. I shouldn't get distracted like that. Look, inside the doorway there's a piece of a wall ****and a river going behind it. We're following the river.**

** I'm on my way.** There. Now if Veemon did try anything, Yamato would be nearby. It was so nice to be on speaking terms with him again. Jou was a little ahead of her so she made sure to quickly follow. Grassy appendages wrapped her mouth, body, and legs, and pulled her into the trees.

* * *

Jou nervously followed Veemon through the increasingly claustrophobic forest. Those giant trees, the way they blocked out the sun, they just seemed evil to him, and not just that unnatural green light. Was their bark that darkly colored or just a trick of that light? Seeing them now, it felt like they were vultures, waiting for their prey to die. And what was living in the forest? Logically there shouldn't be any wildlife, if Veemon was right about its origin, but he kept seeing faint lights. Did the Warden of Life have followers? That was a frightening thought.

And where were Piyomon and Sora?! It was barely a minute when Piyomon noticed Sora wasn't following and went to check on her. And that was minutes ago! Where were they?! Pukamon's usual smile was growing increasingly nervous as well. Jou's instincts were screaming "run" but what if Veemon really wasn't a bad guy? The children didn't have any allies or anything here, and Jou didn't want to risk burning what could be a good bridge. He just didn't know what to do. The sole comfort was that they had stayed next to the river the entire time.

He looked back ahead and immediately regretted it. It was the biggest tree yet, or maybe a bunch clustered together, almost looking like a fortress. Lights were poking out like eyes. His mouth dried as it grew closer. "W-We're going in th-there?!"

"Yeah, neat isn't it?!" Veemon chirped, "Its in the central meeting place for the Order of the Green. "They're not bad mon but they are a little on the technophobic side."

"But isn't this world called the Digital World?" Jou asked, "I mean, that sounds a little, uh, high tech."

"Yeah, don't mention it to them. Just trust me on that."

Reaching the entrance to the tree fortress, Veemon sat down against its wall next to the entrance. "I need a break," he panted, "That dumb tanglegrass really took it out of me." Jou peered into the entrance and found a green creature eating something. A pile of what looked like fruit pits were next to it, Jou quickly recognized them as plum pits. Specifically green plums that didn't look at all ripe, but they were sweet and almost exploded with juice. They were just one of the amazing fruits that grew near the camp site. The creature eating them had yellow eyes, a short red mohawk, and pointed ears. Lying next to it was a club with some screws sticking out. Its large jaw, hands, and feet told Jou this thing was strong. It spit out a pit on to the pile and laid back against a tree.

Veemon poked his head next to Jou. "You see something? Oh, a Goblimon, I forgot that there were a few in the Order. They're jerks. Better stay away from him." A scream sounded and a second Goblimon came running up.

"My sweetsie plums! Where bes my sweetsie plums?!" he shouted. The first Goblimon looked around with a panicked expression. Uh oh. Jou found himself slipping back behind the wall. Food grudges could get ugly- a solid kick from behind sent stumbling towards the Goblimon, landing on his knees.

"What are doing,?!" Pukamon snapped. Jou looked back and saw Veemon looking away with an innocent expression.

"He did it!" a Goblimon shouted, "He eaters thems up!" Oh, no. Jou looked back at the Goblimon, the blood draining from his face. The second Goblimon, the one who was robbed, was advancing on him, club raised.

"I-I didn't!" he protested.

"You say me liar?!" the first Goblimon demanded.

"No! I-I mean I didn't-" Jou stammered, "I didn't eat anything!"

"He really didn't!" Pukamon said, "Seriously, does he look even capable of lying?!" Jou could only wait in terrified silence as the second Goblimon glared down on him. His club lowered. Jou released the breath he discovered he was holding. The Goblimon was listening. _Please don't ask who did! Please don't who did!_

The Goblimon set the club down and raised a hand, revealing his claws. "I cuts my sweetsie plums out of you!" The blood left Jou's face again. _Sora! Piyomon! Where are you?!_

"Hold it there, guys," Veemon said, "Let's not overreact here." The blue traitor stepped in front of Jou. Pukamon hovered next to him, glaring.

"You got him into this," he hissed. Veemon shrugged. The two Goblimon looked surprised at seeing him.

"Friendsie Veemon? Why you here?" the first Goblinmon asked.

"Just keeping an eye on some troublemakers," Veemon answered._Troublemakers?!_ It was official. Veemon lead him right into a trap. And Sora? His heart shattered at the only reason she wasn't rescuing him now. Veemon already got her._ I knew Piyomon should've stayed with her! Not with me!_ But it was too late for regrets now. Worst of all, he couldn't even warn the others.

"Troublemakers?!" Pukamon exploded, "You invit- oof!" A sudden leaping headbutt from Veemon sent Pukamon flying into the river.

"Pukamon!" Jou cried out, lunging for his partner, but a solid weight landed on his back, pinning him down. The feet were too small to be a Goblimon, so it had to be Veemon. "Veemon, why?" he pleaded.

"Shut up, already," Veemon said, his formerly cheerful voice ice cold, "The first law of the Order of the Green is not to take needlessly. Theft is not tolerated."

"B-But I d-didn't-" Jou stammered, feeling the panic overwhelm him, "Y-You were-"

"For your crime, you face the The Judgment of Woodsiemon."

"Woodsiemon!" the Goblimon chanted, "Woodsiemon!"


	10. Order of the Green 03

With a hard shove from the Goblimon behind him, Jou stumbled forward through the tree's entrance and fell on to his knees. He tried to catch himself but the vines handcuffing his wrists behind his back made that impossible. With the painful landing, he found himself looking at the raised platform in the tree's center. Noticeably higher than his current ground, it had some sort of large flower on top, with stems reaching down to the ledge, forming a ramp over the gap between the two surfaces. Jou's ground was actually a big ring-shaped ledge, going all the way around the tree's interior. And along that interior were darkened openings, each with what he could only guess were some kind of stems barring them off. Was he going to be locked up in one of them?

Above the ledge were more openings, though these ones held large flowers in each with their petals poking out. And he could just make out strangely shaped figures on top of them. A few he could tell were more Goblimon but he couldn't imagine what the others were called. _Great. Just great. __A stadium wit__h__a__n audience for __my__ "Judgment of Woodsiemon"_. And hanging all from a ceiling that was far too dark to see were vines. Lots of vines, many of them having a some sort of bulbous plant giving off a red, blue, green, yellow, white or silver light.

The Goblimon in front of him grabbed him by the shoulder and yanked him to his feet. "Please!" he tried pleading again, "I didn't do anything!" Instead, he was shoved again, towards the center platform. "Okay, okay!" As he made his way up the surprisingly sturdy ramp, a vine lowered just in front of the platform, carrying that little blue traitor, Veemon.

"Stealers and liars like wickedshadow!" the Goblimon- no, the lying Goblimon shouted while pointing an accusatory finger at him, "Those of wickedshadow shall eat bramble! So say the Woodsiemon!"

"So say the Woodsiemon!" the audience's voices rang through the stadium. Jou's blood drained away. Were they seriously going to make him eat bramble?! For eating green plums, which he didn't even do?! _Maybe __this__ Woodsiemon will listen to reason… Or maybe Santa Clause will __swoop__ in and__ carry me off in his sleigh._ He knew something like this was going to happen. Other than those bruises he took from that first encounter with Tailmon, he had been relatively unscathed through this whole ordeal, so of course it all going to catch up on him at once.

Veemon raised his arms. "Order of the Green! Followers of the Woodsiemon! I have brought before you someone of great importance!" Scattered voices sounded. Jou's heart began racing. Now Veemon was saying he was important? What did that have to do with the Judgment?

"He eaters my sweetsie plums!" the Goblimon shouted. The stadium fell silent and Veemon's vine lowered to the ground. He walked up to the Goblimon who suddenly started looking a little nervous.

"That is dumb," Veemon said, "You are dumb." The Goblimon looked away, his face turning red. The lying Goblimon just grinned. Veemon returned to the river.

"As I was saying, someone of great importance has come to you! Someone you have waited centuries, no, millennia for! I give you a bearer of the Dark Virtues!" The air in the stadium felt like it disappeared under the collective gasp but Jou was too distracted by the term "Dark Virtue" to really notice. Somehow, it didn't sound like a good thing. Sure, virtues were good, but dark ones? What did that even mean? And why was he bearing a dark virtue? He never really believed himself to be a great person, but surely he was better than "Dark Virtue".

"But there is a problem!" Veemon continued, "He carries with him unlife!" Another collective gasp and, to Jou's worry, the Goblimon were looking afraid of him. "It is small, but it carries with it the unmistakable taint of the Unlife Kingdom's blasphemy! And so, I must call on the Grand Vine!" Jou found himself holding his breath again. From sweetsie plum eater to blasphemer? _I should've just stayed at the camp._ No, he shouldn't have gone to camp in the first place! He knew it would end badly! "I beseech you PetriWoodmon! I know you have just entered your slumber but the wisdom of Woodsiemon is needed! Give this Tainted Child the Judgment of Woodsiemon!"

A quiet chant of "Woodsiemon" echoed through the stadium. Jou could feel himself trembling and not having the will to stop. The lights started to dim with Jou's breathing speeding up. _Slow, deep breaths! Slow, deep breaths!_ A green light appeared, a small speck. Then another. And another. The chants grew faster and louder. More and more lights appeared. They clustered together and exploded out into a shape that almost looked like a tree trunk, one that had its top half violently ripped off. Then he noticed the angry looking face covering its front side.

"Who disturbers my slumber?!" it demanded. It looked down and its voice softened. "Friendsie Veemon?"

"Sorry for waking you, big guy," Veemon said, "I know you just went to sleep and all, but seven Children of Virtue have arrived."

"What?!" the monster roared, "Six Darksie Virtues there bes! But one Deceiver, born of wickedshadow! One Destroyer, sent to strip away Darksie Virtues!" It glared down at Jou. He felt himself shrink under the gaze.

"I didn't eaters any sweetsie plums!" he found himself pleading. The face moved in closer and peered into his eyes.

"Unlife on eyes?!" it practically shouted.

"Th-They're my g-glasses," Jou stuttered, "I-I can't s-s-see w-well-"

"A defect!" the monster roared, "A defect you fix with unlife!" It looked up and roared before looking back down. "Bes you Deceiver?! Or bes you Destroyer?!"

"Th-They're just… Th-They're just…" Jou continued to mutter. Its eyes widened again and its head moved back with an enraged shriek.

"Taint! Unlife! Taint of the Unlife King! You not Darksie Child! You Deceiver! You Destroyer!"

"But I- I- I haven't even-" Jou tried to protest. PetriWoodmon peered down with its crushing gaze again.

"The unlife sleeps," it said, its voice calmer, "You not touchered it." PetriWoodmon must have been talking about the digivice. Jou stayed silent for fear of saying something to provoke the monster's rage again.

"They all have one," Veemon said, "All seven." It looked at Veemon.

"Awake the Deceiver's and Destroyer's will bes," it said, "Where bes Darksie Children?"

"Where else?" Veemon answered with a shrug, "That clearing by the lake. It's literally the only decent place left in File."

"How many Tainted?"

"Four."

"Four?!" the monster exploded. Jou fell over and he could swear the surrounding walls vibrated.

"Might be five," Veemon said, "I'm a little unclear on one of them."

"His body destroyed!" PetriWoodmon went on, "His soul banished! Yet ahead of us Unlife King of wickedshadow still is!" Jou found himself under the crushing gaze again. "No wonder you coward! I claims your Darksie Virtue! Judgement of Woodsiemon on all other Darksie Children!"

* * *

Yamato growled as his PhotoSaber bounced off the wall of roots frozen by the giant wolf next to him. Garurumon, for some reason Yamato he wasn't sure he wanted to know, had the same fur as the pelt that he wore as Gabumon. His ice powers were still intact, as freezing as Greymon's flames were burning. But somehow, that still wasn't cold enough for the roots. They weren't even that big; he could see the path they were blocking off, the path Sora's Tmail mentioned. The roots had emerged from the stone slab and his attempts to just break through only uncovered a spiderweb of them. He looked at the map again. No information about what was ahead but he did see Sora's gray digivice and the dark gray inactive digivice which was obviously Jou. They were separate and not moving. Not good.

With a snarl he turned and started heading towards Koushiro. Before hacking the slab apart, he got the other boy to analyze it and take a picture with the laptop in case it had anything important. Maybe he'd have an idea, or maybe he found something.

His eyes fell on Mimi and his mood soured further. She pretending to be the evil witch who kidnapped Princess Hikari and Prince TK had to save her. Why was she even playing with him like that?! Weren't prissy girls like her supposed to hate getting dirty?!

_Knock it off! It's not Mimi-__san__'s__ fault you never play with him!_ He was doing it again! Blaming everyone else for his own mistakes! His own selfishness! When the fighting between his parents got real bad, TK was first taken to the Yagamis. For the first couple times, Yamato went too, but he just couldn't stand Taichi. Everything about that bush-haired moron grated him and the two fought as badly as his parents. So instead Yamato ended up being taken to some other friends and he was just fine with that. And just like that, his last days with TK were given to Taichi and Hikari.

"Yamato, you really shouldn't let what Sora said bother you" Garurumon's voice broke him out of his thoughts, "She didn't mean anything by it."

"But that doesn't make it any less true," he countered, "TK needed me and all I had to do was put up with Yagami-kun. Couldn't even do that." Garurumon closed his eyes, like he was concentrating. He opened them again.

"I don't know much about human family relations but I am pretty sure those thoughts you are having are what you should be telling him." Yamato let out a bitter laugh.

"If I told him what I really thought, he'd never forgive me." In truth, he was actually relieved Hikari couldn't make it to camp. While he certainly did want to meet this little girl TK claimed was "too cool to have cooties", he was afraid that he hadn't fully gotten over his resentment towards her. After all, she was the one who was always comforting TK when the fighting got too much. It was because of her TK got to be friends with Taichi "Big Brother of the Year" Yagami. When he threw away his last days with TK, she was there to pick them right up. For a few years after the divorce, he absolutely hated her, struggling to keep his patience with TK gushing on about his "bestest friend ever" and, while he liked to think he was over it, that he was only grateful to her now, he was afraid that some of the resentment still remained. _And I can't tell TK that I hated his best friend simply for being such a good friend._

Shaking his head, he turned his thoughts to the current problem. He had to get to Sora somehow, even if it meant braving the forest itself. Maybe Kabuterimon could get him above and Garurumon, with his agility, could get him a safe landing. _Or maybe, since we already know where to go, Kabuterimon __could__ just drop us past the roots. _That was an idea. Sure, it did risk exposing the camp site but Sora and Jou were more important than that.

"Careful Yamato!" Garurumon suddenly spoke up, snapping him back to reality. He summoned his CoreBlaster as he looked around. Nothing. Besides, if it was dangerous, Koushiro would have Tmailed him. Other than being a bit darker… uh oh. He was not in the building that long, and it was darkening fast.

"We'd better hurry," Yamato said and hopped on the wolf's back. The two took off towards Koushiro and Yagami. He glanced over at TK and Mimi. Oblivious, from the looks of things. _Let's see if we can keep it that way._ As they raced to the others, bright green specks began appearing in the sky. Garurumon came to a stop and Yamato hopped down, next to a mesmerized Koushiro. Tentomon was hovering above his head while Agumon was between the lights and Yagami.

"What's happening?" Koushiro jumped a little at his question.

"Oh! Yamato-kun! Um, I'm not certain."

"But we know its bad," Tentomon added. Yamato nodded.

"Keep an eye on TK and Mimi-san," he ordered his partner.

"Understood," the wolf answered. The lights clustered together and exploded out in the form of a tree stump with its top ripped off. And a face. Yamato quickly glanced at Yagami. If this thing was dangerous, Agumon wouldn't offer much protection without evolving. Yagami needed him more than Koushiro did, but then again, this creature wasn't looking in Yagami's direction. Was it even noticing? In that case, Yamato should stay right where he was. He tried the DigiScanner. Nothing found. Hopefully that meant it was just a hologram or something, but then again, given those shadows from the palace, there was no telling just how harmless even a hologram could be.

The giant head glared down on him and Koushiro. "Darksie Children," it announced, "I bes PetriWoodmon, Grand Vine of the Woodsiemon!" Koushiro opened up his laptop and the PetriWoodmon's eyes widened. "Unlife!" it shouted, "You users unlife! Deceiver! Destroyer!" What?!

"W-Wait, wh-what are you-" Koushiro stammered

"You users unlife!" it repeated, "Tool of Deceiver! Tool of Destroyer! You servers wickedshadow! Taint other Childrens! One already consumes with Taint!" One already? Yamato caught his breath. _Jou!_

"What the hell did you do to him?!" he demanded.

"I absorbs! Claims Darksie Virtue!" Absorb?! "For rest of you, Judgment of Woodsiemon! Deceiver will fail! Destroyer will fail!" A rumbling sounded. Yamato started looking around. A section of the treewall which was starting to lower. _That can't be a good thing._

"Garurumon!" he called out, "Something's up!" From the opening, some sort of dark, armored rhino came storming out. The DigiScanner called it Monochromon. Its shell and horn were as hard as diamond. It was ridden by a viscous looking white-haired, green monster with horns coming out of its body. Ogremon. Ogremon was much stronger than he looked, and that was saying something, and his skill his bone rivaled most swordsmen. He also wielded minor powers of darkness and electricity.

Right behind Ogremon and Monochromon came a giant red beetle, every bit as nightmarish-looking as Kabuterimon but worse, since this bug wouldn't have Tentomon's personality. It didn't wield Kabuterimon's electric powers but the crushing power of its pincers was far greater.

And just below was a blue bear with red metal claws. Grizzlymon was far more agile than he looked and very few metals could withstand even one swipe of his claws.

His head throbbing from the repeated scans, Yamato stumbled back a few steps. "Yamato!" Garurumon called out, "What's wrong!"

"J-Just too many scans," he answered, taking deep breaths. Some sort of roar sounded and he heard something big fly above him.

"Kabuterimon! Watch those pincers!" Koushiro called out, "Fight at range!"

"Don't have to tell me!" Kabuterimon responded. Yamato felt Garurumon lunge past him, at Grizzlymon no doubt, and sent his partner the Cryo Core. His vision cleared and he immediately found himself watching as Monochromon was charging… right at TK and Mimi!

"Those twos bes Untainted!" The floating head called out as Mimi picked up TK and started to run away, "Takes thems first."

"No!" Yamato shouted, looking back at Garurumon, who was leaping around Grizzlymon's slashes. He gritted his teeth and sent the Electro Core into the Blaster. That should work against Grizzlymon's claws. He aimed and waited. Now! Garurumon fired a freeze blast and Grizzlymon dug a claw into the ground, launching himself away. _Now to see if all that practice paid off._

Grizzlymon was quite a bit further away than the tossed rock, but he was also a lot bigger. Yamato opened fire, three shots missed, but a forth struck a claw. Grizzlymon gave a quick yelp and glared at him. _Perfect!_ **TK and Mimi-****san**** are in danger! Save them first!** Garurumon responded to his order with an angry growl but Yamato knew he would obey. And be completely merciless with Ogremon and Monochromon, which suited Yamato just fine.

He fired again as the Grizzlymon charged towards him. The bear leapt around the shots while he ran away from Koushiro to draw the danger away. Grizzlymon lunged at him, time slowing down, when a big orange mass crashed into the bear. _Greymon?!_ He didn't even bother looking at Yagami, instead focusing his attention to Garurumon. The wolf had just fired an ice blast at Monochromon. Monochromon jumped to the side while Ogremon went straight up and launched something. It was hard to tell from the distance but it was probably that dark energy the DigiScanner mentioned.

Yamato started running to the fleeing Mimi. Ogremon, as he dropped down, looked over and threw his bone. Yamato could only helplessly watch as it reached Mimi long before he was anywhere near, sending her and TK sprawling… and not moving. "_T__AKERU_!" Ogremon landed on Monochromon's back and it took off towards the two at a speed Yamato couldn't hope to match. Garurumon could and ran up next to Ogremon, looking ready to lunge. _And then I'll get Monochromon's attention!_ He aimed he CoreBlaster. Ogremon swung his club, Garurumon bit it, and was immediately thrown back with a spray of electric sparks. _The electric powers!_

Seconds later, Monochromon raced passed TK and Mimi and the pair were in Ogremon's hands. "Yamato! I'm sorry!" Garurumon called out as he ran up to Yamato. Yamato climbed on to Garurumon's back.

"After them," he ordered as Monochromon began racing back to the opening, "The treewall will probably close after they're through!" **They took ****Takeru**** and Mimi-san! I'm going after them!** He sent his message to both Koushiro and Yagami. "And don't blame yourself," he assured Garurumon, mentally kicking himself for not considering the big tree head thing trying something like this, and for not considering what Ogremon's darkness and electric powers might be, "It's more my fault than yours."

* * *

Tanglemon. That was the real identity of that grass. Tanglemon was an artificial worm-like assassin digimon that stayed underground, letting only its tentacles surface. The tentacles looked like grass but were stronger than steel. Each tentacle had tiny barbs inside that poke out once prey was snagged and would begin draining the victim's blood while injecting a toxin that neutralized a digimon's powers. While Tanglemon could live off just water, they preferred blood and the more blood they drank, the more malevolent they became, learning to enjoy their victims' suffering and keeping them alive as long as possible.

_I'm going to die,_ Sora realized. This was even worse than the water from the palace. Worse than fighting the two Phantomons. With those she was able to do things to save herself. But here? Her legs were completely bound. Her arms pulled behind her back so tightly, she could feel her bones pressing against each other. Another tentacle was around her mid section, squeezing the breath out of her and two more over her mouth and neck making even the slightest squeak impossible.

She tried again to evolve Piyomon. The little bird was practically killing herself firing barrages of heated wind but the killer plant's, worm's, whatever's tentacles only shook a little under the assault. Tanglemon itself didn't even seem to notice her outside the brief moments she would drop into grabbing range, at which point a tentacle would take a quick swipe at her.

Still nothing. The winds that were supposed to rush through her would barely start before fizzling out, and Element Cores weren't working either as her failed attempts at strengthening Piyomon with the Aero Core revealed.

A freezing wind whooshed beneath her. Something cracked and she was on the ground, the tentacles no longer grabbing her. Then a strong arm wrapped around her, and quickly lifted her on to something big and furry. She let out a slight yip from both the fur irritating her cuts and just the roughness of the way she was lifted.

"S-Soraaaaaaaa…" Piyomon flopped down in front of her, breathing heavily.

"Y-Yamato?" Sora said as she wrapped her hands her rescuer's back, making sure to be close enough to hold Piyomon between their bodies.

"Sorry for the roughness," he practically growled, "but I'm in a hurry."

"What do-" She cut her question off as Garurumon took off, instead clenching her teeth, trying to bear the pain as she held on. Her head began burning as information poured in. A warning about an unknown contaminant entering her body. Contaminant identified as Tanglemon toxin. Too much toxin for anti-toxin functions. Toxin is disrupting digivice combat functions. _Now you tell me._ Toxin reduced to manageable levels.

Garurumon came to a sudden stop. Sora let out another yelp and so did Piyomon as she got squeezed. "You ride too rough!" the little bird complained, "Can't you see Sora's hurt?!"

"Seriously, Yamato-kun, what was so…" Sora trailed off as she looked ahead. A long bridge over a deep ravine with a green monster riding some sort of rhino thing on the other side. Her DigiScanner identified them as Ogremon and Monochromon. That's who Yamato was chasing, but why- "TK-kun! Mimi-san!" They were both tied up at the bridge's far end!

"You're not up to this," Yamato growled, "and Piyomon needs to rest. Garurumon and I will handle it."

"I'm sure I can deal with both of them," Garurumon growled as Sora picked up her partner and slid off.

"I'm not letting you fight both alone," Yamato retorted. Garurumon gave a reluctant sounding growl of acknowledgment and the two bolted across the bridge towards Ogremon who met the charge with Monochromon. With his PhotoSaber out, Yamato took a swing. Ogremon swung back with his bone with a spray of sparks. Yamato fell back as Garurumon slowed down. Ogremon reached Sora and Piyomon, licking his lips as he looked at them. Sora felt herself shudder as Piyomon fanned out her wings in front.

Ogremon turned around and Yamato had already began charging. Ogremon charged back, their swings making more sparks, Yamato falling back again, this time nearly falling off. Garurumon stopped as Ogremon charged again. _Ogremon's just playing with them!_ Sora realized. She drew her CoreBlaster and aimed, considering what Core to use, but then lowered the gun. Yamato was already attacking again and there was no way she could get off a shot without hitting him. And waiting until Ogremon was close enough was just suicide.

* * *

Yamato gritted his teeth as he charged for the third time. The DigiScanner wasn't kidding about Ogremon's strength. PhotoSaber out, he swung at Ogremon again. This time Ogremon thrust his bone into Yamato's weapon, throwing him right off Garurumon's back, the PhotoSaber flying out of his hand.

"Yamato!" Garurumon cried out. Ogremon leapt off Monochromon and struck the creature with his club. Monochromon yelped and charged into Garurumon, the two breaking right through the rail and falling over.

"Garurumon!" Yamato shouted. Ogremon's club came right for his chest. He instinctively recalled the sword just in time to block the blow, though it lifted him into the air and on to his back. Ogremon swung down on him and he barely rolled away in time.

Scrambling back up, he took a desperate swing, barely seeing Sora hobble over. No sign of Piyomon. Ogremon sidestepped the swing and took an underhand swing with his club, giving Yamato a stinging pain in his hand followed by numbness. And then he saw his sword fall down into Ogremon's waiting hand.

Ogremon gave Yamato a feral grin and plunged the sword right at his body. Time slowed down for Yamato and he gave a clumsy sidestep, recalling the weapon, it appearing back in his flailing hand and sliced right through Ogremon.

He stared at the data particles, trying to catch his breath. _Dumb luck. I got him with dumb luck._

"Yamato-kun!" Sora panted, reaching him, "S-Sorry I c-couldn't help!"

"I-It's fine," Yamato assured, "Garurumon and-" he caught his breath and ran over to where Garurumon and Monochromon broke through the guardrail. "Garurumon!" he called out, looking for some sign of his partner in the river below.

"Birdramon went after him," Sora said, sounding worried, "The Monochromon pulled her into the water." A bit of hope entered her voice. "But I can still bring up the evolutions." Yamato immediately brought his evolutions up. Yes, it still said Gabumon was Garurumon. And the Cryo Core was still in effect. He let out a relieved sigh. "The Cryo Core is still working." Sora gasped.

"I just sent Birdramon the Aero Core! I think they're okay! And I Tmailed her that you got Ogremon."

"Good idea." He sent a similar message to Garurumon, ignoring the frustration over the fact that his partner had no way of answering him. He stood up and shakily made his way over to where TK and Mimi were tied up. He looked at the sign over top, the DigiScanner translating it.

** Build****s**** thems ****unlife**** towers over the ****g****reensie trees and ****laughs ****theys at the Woodsiemon.**

** Fill****s**** thems ****c****oolsie waters with burn****sie**** poison and ****laughs**** theys at the Woodsiemon.**

** B****locks**** thems ****w****armsie**** s****un**** w****ith****b****lack****y****clouds**** and laughs theys at the Woodsiemon.**

** Starves they****s**** over ****unlife**** fruits, chokes they****s**** over burn****sie**** water, ****f****reezes they****s**** under ****b****lack****y**** clouds, and laughs the Woodsiemon at thems.**

"Nice sounding guys," he commented.

"Woodsiemon?" Sora asked, looking at the same sign, "Veemon said these guys were the Order of the Green. Another name for them?" Yamato shrugged as he looked at TK. He was breathing okay, or at least he looked like it. Same for Mimi. _Jou-__kun__ should examine them to be sure- Jou-__kun__!_ How could he forget?!

He brought up his map. A blue digivice icon suddenly popped into existence. "Check your map," he said. Her eyes widened. Taichi's digivice was red. Sora's was gray. Koushiro's was yellow. His was white. And with TK and Mimi here, the only possible one for blue was Jou.

"Jou-kun awakened his digivice?! How?!" And did that mean he was absorbed, or whatever that green head talking about?

"Let's just worry about finding him," Yamato warned, "He won't be conscious after that."

"The Darksie Child bes fine," a familiar voice rumbled from above. Yamato glared at the head of green lights, wishing the DigiScanner would pick something up. "But defective his body bes!" it continued, "Ruined by unlife! Unfit to be Darksie Child! I shall claims his Darksie Virtue!"

"What are you doing to him?!" Yamato demanded.

"Silence!" it roared back, "Separated you bes from Deceiver! From Destroyer! Now Judgment of Woodsiemon will commence!"

* * *

Sitting up and trying to ignore her throbbing head, Mimi looked around. Darkness everywhere. It almost reminded her of that creepy palace but at least there wasn't that heavy feeling. And her head was hurting… oh, yeah. That monster hit her with its club._B__eating up an innocent girl like me! __What is wrong with that monster?!__ And sweet little TK-chan…__ TK-chan!_ She looked around for the boy. He had to have been taken too, so where was he?! _Please be okay, TK-chan! Please be okay!_

She suddenly found herself looking up at two girls, almost looking like sisters with their dark eyes and long black hair. The designer clothes confirmed the growing fear as to who these girls were. _Minako-san! Aino-san! _Her best friends, or rather, her soon to be ex-best friends, once they saw her in the dirt like this. She started backing away, praying they didn't see her.

Minako looked right at her, her expression filled with shock and disgust. "Mimi-san! What are you doing down there!"

"I-I'm sorry!" Mimi stammered, "I-It's just that-"

"Rolling around like a pig," Aino laughed, "That does fit her!" Mimi's mouth hung open in stunned silence. Aino was always so nice to her! Sure, she'd say things like that to other girls, but never to her!

"W-What?!" Tears started to well up. "A-Aino-san, i-it's not like that! I-I'm away f-from h-home, a-and-"

"Quite crying!" Minako snapped, "Look at you! You're a mess! Did you even think about how you're making us look?!" Mimi flinched. She _never_ wanted to make Minako and Aino look bad. She always worried how she reflected on them, just like they always made her look good.

"Seriously Mimi-san," Aino continued, "We put our reputation at stake, letting you hang with us! And this is how you repay us?!"

"N-No! Please!" Mimi pleaded, "I-I haven't had a ch-chance to-"

"You're disgusting," Minako said, "I knew letting you-"

"Stop that!" TK shouted. Mimi jumped, suddenly aware of the little boy's presence. Where did he come from?!

"What are _you_ supposed to be?" Minako sneered. Mimi swallowed nervously. Things were just getting worse and worse.

"Mimi-san's real nice!" TK continued, "So stop being mean to her!"

"TK-chan, please," she started. She didn't want TK getting on Minako's and Aino's bad side. They would not hold back and a little kid like him couldn't possibly take their cruelty.

"And what are you supposed to be, you little freak?" Aino asked, glaring down at the boy. TK seemed to shrink a little under the gaze. "You think that hideous blond hair makes you cool or something?"

"Th-That's my hair color…" TK's voice started to weaken. _Just run away, TK-chan!_

"Oh, yuck, a half breed," Aino sneered. She glared at Mimi. "Is this the kind of garbage you hang around with now?!"

"N-No!" Mimi said. She had to get TK out of the line of fire.

"Mimi-san's my friend!" TK blurted out. _No! No! No! TK-chan, don't!_ "So, stop being mean to her!" She had to admit the bravado TK was putting out was impressive but Minako and Aino would see right through it.

Minako looked at her. "See this, Mimi-san?" she said, "Without us, this half-breed runt is the best you'll ever do."

"And she's the best he'll ever do!" Aino laughed.

"Mimi-san's prettier than you!" TK shout out. Mimi caught her breath as a deadly silence fell over. On one hand, she was absolutely stunned that little TK would say something like that. On the other hand, She didn't compare to Minako or Aino. They knew it. Everyone knew it. And to even imply otherwise…

"Will you shut up, Takeru-san!" she shouted. TK jumped back, staring at her, his eyes wide. "I'm sick of you always bugging me!"

"B-But M-Mimi-san…" TK trailed off as his eyes started to water. He started moving towards her.

"Get away from me!" she shouted and slapped her hand across his face. The look of pain and betrayal on his face ripped her heart in half, but it was the only way to protect him from Minako and Aino. TK let out a whimper.

"I-I'm s-s-s-sorry," his voice cracked. He turned around and ran off into the darkness. Mimi held back her own sobs. _I'm sorry TK-chan, but Minako-san and Aino-san are…_ Are what? She wasn't really certain how she was going to finish that thought. Well, either way, it was time to face them again. To salvage what little regard they had left for her.

Taking a shaky breath, she looked to them… but they were gone. Instead, however, was something far more terrifying. Even more than a hundred Minakos and Ainos. An absolutely enraged Sora. Before Mimi could even start think to what to say, Sora yanked her to her feet.

"What the hell was that, Mimi-san?!" she demanded.

"Sora-san, I-I-I'm sorry…" Mimi started, trying not to think of what Sora was looking mad enough to do, which wasn't easy given how much stronger the other girl was than her. She looked for Minako and Aino, or anyone for that matter, but she was alone. "M-Minako-sain… Aino-san… Th-They would… To TK-chan…" she desperately tried to explain.

"I'm sorry too," Sora growled, "Sorry I ever thought you were a good friend to him."

* * *

It took all of Sora's willpower not to throttle Mimi. How dare she treat TK that way?! TK really saw her as a big sister! To reject him like that… and just because of those two girls?! Sora couldn't really make out their appearance, or what they were saying, but Mimi certainly seemed to know them. Well, that's who she'd rather be friends with, then fine.

Now Sora was running down the path TK had gone, praying that he'd gone in a straight line. This darkness was making any real search impossible. Was Yamato still with her or did he get separated? She lost sight when the darkness fell. Either way, he'd want her to focus on TK.

She screeched to a stop, a figure suddenly right in front of her. The blood drained from her face when she saw who. _Mom?! How?!_ The older woman's harsh expression melted any question Sora might have had.

"What is wrong with you, Sora?!" her mother demanded, "That poor girl is exactly who I want you to be and look how you treat her?!" Sora had to work her mouth to force out a response.

"D-Didn't you see how she treated poor TK-kun?!" she demanded, "He saw her as a big sister and she just… just…" The thought made her too angry to even finish. She forcibly unclenched the fists she hadn't realized she was making. "I need to find him," she growled through clenched teeth.

"And swoop in like a vulture," her mother sneered, "Take a failing friendship for yourself. Easier than building, right?"

"W-What?!" Sora couldn't believe what she was hearing. Sure she wasn't exactly on great terms with her mother, but she never believed the older woman thought so little of her. She barely noticed the tears rolling down her cheeks. "I-I'm not… I mean, I-I just want to help TK-kun!"

"Like you helped Yamato-kun?!" her mother demanded. Sora caught her breath. She knew about that?!

"Th-That wasn't… I was just…" she forced herself to take a breath, "I just want him to stop blaming himself."

"You want! You want!" her mother practically exploded, "It's always about you! Remember that nice dress I wanted you to wear?! I only wanted you to look nice for once!" Sora was taken aback. She didn't like worrying too much about her looks, but she never considered herself ugly.

"I-It was an a-accident," she stammered, "I-I told you… Me and T-Taichi-"

"The Yagami boy," her mother snorted, "I always knew he was bad influence."

"_What?!_" That was insane! Her mother loved Taichi, even saying that if she ever had a son, she'd want him to be like Taichi! "Taichi's the best friend I ever had! And you know that!"

"He also nearly got his sister killed because of his own selfishness!" Sora's jaw dropped open. She couldn't believe her mother would say that! In fact, it was her mother who got her to understand that as awful as it could have turned out, it wasn't really any more careless than any other of the multitude of dumb things she and Taichi had done. "And that selfishness is completely rubbing off on you."

Sora tried to force out a response. A defense of Taichi. A defense of herself. Anything. But nothing came out. What could she say?

"All I wanted," her mother went on, "was for you to at least act a little lady like." She shook her head. "You are such a disappointment."

* * *

Yamato stared at Mimi, feeling himself tremble with a bare contained fury. It was taking all of his willpower not to storm over and give her a good beating. After the way she'd spent every waking moment clinging to TK, practically treating him like pet, and now she was throwing him away?! Did she think he was some type handbag or something?!

Growling to himself, he ran past the sobbing girl in the direction TK had gone. Sora had already gone ahead and Yamato was hoping to overtake her. While he knew _she_ could be trusted with his little brother, TK needed actual family now and it was time for Yamato to act like it.

There he was… where was Sora? _Don't tell me she got lost!_ It would be impossible to find her. Scout Mode wasn't working and any attempt to activate it only flashed an **ERROR** message across his vision. _Sora's strong. She'll be fine. Right now, focus on TK._ And then Mimi. As much as he hated her, it wasn't enough to abandon her.

As he drew closer to TK, two other figures came into view. The sight of them stopped him right in his tracks.

* * *

TK curled up on the ground, desperately pressing his hands against his ears, but the words got right through. His eyes were clamped shut, but the images still appeared in his mind. "An hour!" his mother shouted, "You kept him waiting for an hour!"

He barely remembered what had happened. Only that he was waiting for what felt like forever for his father. It ended up being his mother who came for him. The only thing he really remembered was the huge fight. The divorce came pretty quickly after that.

"I didn't mind!" he desperately cried out, shakily standing back up, "It didn't feel that long! Really!" He had to stop the fight somehow! He had to! It was his fault for causing it!

"Something important came up!" his father shouted, "If you were near your phone you would've known!"

"I already had something important!" his mother fired back, "That's why I needed you to pick up Takeru!"

"I'm okay! See?!" TK tried to interrupt, "I'm okay! It didn't bother me!"

"I'm already handling Yamato!" his father said, "I don't have time for Takeru too!" TK returned to covering his ears and eyes. If only he could block even just a few of those angry words out. Unfortunately, those words were determined to find his ears.

"I was handling Yamato today!" his mother reminded, "Takeru was your job!"

"_My_ job is feeding this damn family!" his father shot back, "And in case you forgot, there's four of us now!"

"And who's fault is that?!" his mother said, "_You_ were the one who wanted to celebrate getting that story! You knew how tight our budget was!"

"You weren't exactly against it!"

"_I'm sorry_!" TK cried out, "_I'm sorry I'm so expensive! I'm sorry I waste your time! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!_"

* * *

Whatever anger Yamato had felt towards Mimi was just a faint ember compared the volcano exploding inside him now. Those damn arguments from their worthless parents! Did they ever think about what they were saying?! What they were telling TK?! _Like I did to Sora?!_ That sudden reminded him of that argument. _Great! I'm turning into them!_ Maybe TK was better off with a big brother like Yagami instead.

He shook those thoughts out of his head. He put his attention back to TK, who was tearfully apologizing for… being born. His fury reignited, he rushed towards the boy, grabbing his hand. TK looked at him puffy, red eyes. "Y-Yama?" he sobbed.

"We're leaving," he said, struggling to keep some semblance of composure, "We need to find Sora-kun. And Mimi-san." He had to force out that last bit, but TK would worry about her, no matter how badly she treated him.

"B-But Mommy a-and D-Daddy!" TK sobbed.

"Forget them!" he snapped more harshly than he intended. TK's flinch made him feel worse.

"I can't forget them," TK said, "They're my Mommy and Daddy."

"So what?! It's not like they care about us!" Yamato immediately slapped his hands to his mouth. How could he say that?! The look on TK's face confirmed what a mistake it was.

"B-But I l-love Mommy and Daddy…" the little boy trailed off. Yamato mentally kicked himself._ Damn it! Why is it every time I open my mouth, I just hurt him?!_

"_Failures_!" the digimon's head reappeared in the sky, "You all failures trials!" Yamato was suddenly back in the forest with Sora and Mimi, exactly where he was when it turned dark.

* * *

Tailmon stared at the sea of trees towering over her rooftop. How nice the entrance those brats had picked would be shady, allowing her to peacefully wait until they left again. Which probably wouldn't be for a while, even that bush headed one had to have gotten the hint by now. Of course, she could try tracking down their little hideout but that would mean actually entering the forest which would be a very bad idea. For one thing, those giant trees had no branches below their tops and their bark was too hard for her claws, so climbing down was not an option. And neither was exploring, not with the Order of the Green in there. The Greenies would never tolerate one of Vamdemon's soldiers in their forest. _Meh.__ I don't really need to know where the brats are all the time._

"Hiya, Tailmon!" Tailmon involuntarily flinched at the grating voice.

"Go away, Veemon." That irritating lizard who Vamdemon, for reasons she couldn't begin to imagine, had forced her to partner with. Even though she already had a partner. A good one.

"Hey, I'm just here with some good news," Veemon said.

"You've been transferred?" She should be so lucky.

"Very funny. No, what I mean is, I dealt with our little Chosen Children problem!" Tailmon's blood went cold. She whirled around, glaring at Veemon.

"What do you mean you dealt with them?" she hissed, almost afraid of the answer.

"I just sicced ol' Lifey on them," Veemon said with an oblivious smile, "Since it just woke up, it'll be nice and cranky too!" Tailmon just stared at her future scratching post, her jaw hitting the ground. She didn't want Veemon on this mission. She knew he'd find a way to screw things up. But this badly?!

_No, no, no!_ Everything was perfect! PetriWoodmon had just entered its quadrennial slumber and it slept for a full year! Plenty of time to get the Children some battle experience with Miracles, Equality, and maybe even Destiny! But the Warden of Life? It was a completely different level from the others!

_Why the hell did Vamdemon stick this idiot with me?! _ Oh, right. That oblivious cheerfulness made him real good at making friends and establishing underworld connections. Even with the Order. Given the Order's presence in File, it did make some sense to give her a connection to them. But on the other hand… She smacked him over the head with her tail, making sure hit him with the ring. "Ouch! Tailmon, what's the big idea?!" Veemon glared, rubbing his head.

"You idiot! Do you have any idea what just did?!"

"Yeah! I got the top Warden to get the brats!" Veemon shot back, "I mean, come on! The other Wardens are a joke compared to him! Why waste the time?!" This is _exactly_ why she didn't want that blue idiot around! No amount of "connections" made up for Veemon's idiocy!

"Do you even remember why Vamdemon sent us after these brats?!" Veemon looked a little confused at the question.

"To kill them? That's how you deal with your ene- ow!" Another hit from the tail.

"I could've killed them all when they first appeared in the palace!" Tailmon snapped, "Did you even listen to the briefing?! What were our orders?!" Veemon looked thoughtful.

"Uh, find the brats and… uh… ow! What the hell is your problem?!"

"The Metal King's resurrection you idiot!" Tailmon exploded, "Remember Astrolomon's prophecy?!" She could feel herself trembling with anger. And… fear? The Metal King was said to be one who triggered the ancient war that ravaged the Digital World and was, quite possibly, the most dangerous being the Digital World's history. Well, him or the "First Shadow", whatever that was.

"Oh, yeah, the prophecy," Veemon scratched the back of head, looking sheepish, "Um, but wait! Only two of the kids were capable of beating him, right? So we only two of them alive! Ow!" She wasn't sure how much more of Veemon stupidity she could take.

"Did Astrolomon happen to tell you which two?!" she hissed, "Because he sure as hell didn't tell me!" That damn prophet! _The eight Children of Virtue have been Chosen. The __r__esurrection of the Metal King is at hand. Only the Two who Shine can stand against his Darkness and Shadow.__ But since they probably can't do it alone, you'll probably need all of them._ Yeah, all of them. She had to take these eight little kids and somehow forge them into warriors capable of stopping the most feared being in the Digital World's history! And that reminded her of the other problem: where the hell was the eighth?! There was only seven here! What if the eighth was one of the two?! Were both of them even needed or was either of them enough?!

"Okay, I admit it, I mess up!" Veemon interrupted her thoughts, putting his arms up, "Sheesh. If they can't beat PetriWoodmon then-"

"I was preparing them!" Tailmon shouted.

"I just wanted to help!" Veemon countered, "You always do this! We're supposed to work together but you cut me out and try to do everything yourself!" She fought the urge to roll her eyes.

"You want to help? Go kill Etemon. He's the one who keeps digging up the Metal King's stuff!"

"Uh, yeah, I was thinking of something that wouldn't get me punched into low orbit."

"You've done enough. I'm going to have to call in some real help to straighten this mess out." She looked back at the forest. _You brats better survive this, or we're all doomed._


	11. Order of Green 04

Taichi clenched his teeth, watching as Greymon leapt back from one of Grizzlymon's swipes. As the bear took another, Greymon grabbed his claw and slammed him to his back. Grizzlymon's other claw lunged out, Greymon barely leaping back in time.

Greymon spit out a burst of blue flame as Grizzlymon rolled back to his feet, the flames barely reaching the bear. _Maybe giving Greymon more fire in the middle of this forest was a mistake,_ Taichi reflected with how his partner seemed to be holding back a bit. He shook his head, looking up at the floating head of green lights. _No. I can't assume PetriWoodmon's going to be a wimp like Phantomon. _

He looked at Kabuterimon and Kuwagamon who were flying circles around each other. Metallic shards fired from Kabuterimon, with Kuwagamon swerving around each shot. Given all the nearby water, Koushiro decided that more electricity could be too dangerous. Instead, he gave his partner the Geo Core, which allowed Kabuterimon to fire some sort of magnetic metal. It didn't hit much harder than the normal electric blasts but the shards were aerodynamic and delivered a good impact.

Kuwagamon suddenly shot into Kabuterimon's stomach and drove the beetle into the ground. Then a metal shot straight up, through Kuwagamon's body, and the red beetle disappeared into data particles. _That's the bug. Now what about the bear? _Greymon had just spit out a fireball but Grizzlymon drove his claws into the ground and flung himself out of its way. "No!" Greymon roared as the fireball stuck against the grass, leaving flames behind, but little else. **See Greymon?! This place is too wet for you to burn down so easily! Let him have it!** The instant Taichi sent the Tmail, Greymon spewed a stream of flame at Grizzlymon. He used to ground to fling himself away but Greymon immediately followed with a fireball. A direct hit and Grizzlymon was gone.

And that was it for the flunkies. _At least the ones we were stuck with_, Taichi reminded himself. Still, he couldn't imagine Ishida losing to that green guy. _Sora and Jou are out there too. Sora and Ishida will save TK and Mimi, so we just have to handle the grumpy green giant. _Back to PetriWoodmon. What was it going to do now that its flunkies were gone? "_Failures_!" Oh. Throw a temper tantrum. "You all failures trials!" Taichi winced under the noise; it almost felt like it was reopening his wounds. He _really_ needed to lie back down.

The big green head moved right in front of Koushiro, glaring down on him. "You, Deceiver! Destroyer!"

"Get away!" Kabuterimon shouted, firing a shard through the head. PetriWoodmon ignored the bug. Koushiro visibly took a breath.

"Please, let's just talk about this," he said, his voice containing a slight tremor, "We're very new here and-"

"_Silence_!" PetriWoodmon shrieked an interruption, followed by two more of Kabuterimon's shards and even a fireball from Greymon, "With Unlife, you have Tainted Darksie Children! Deceiver! Destroyer!"

"Shut up, already!" Taichi shouted, "We're just trying to get back home! We don't know anything about this darksie unlife crap!" PetriWoodmon shot him a searing glare that he could almost feel himself shrink before. Instead, he took a breath and kept himself straight. He was not giving the big ugly head that satisfaction.

"Unlife!" PetriWoodmon shrieked, "Deadsie metal! Falsie plastic! Coldy electricity! Virtues born in Darkness! Light burn Virtues! Replaces with wickedshadow!" Well, that was almost coherent.

"So, you're saying technology is bad?" Koushiro asked, sounding completely unbelieving. PetriWoodmon whipped around to face him.

"Wickedshadow bring unlife! Wickedshadow spread unlife! Unlife is wickedshadow!" Its voice dropped a bit. "You use unlife! Deceiver! Destroyer!"

"Everyone uses stuff like that!" Taichi shouted, "and they don't bring those evil shadows you're so scared of!" PetriWoodmon went into a dead silence.

"Feared as I have!" it said at last, "Your Darksie world has fallen to Taint of Unlife King. And attempts to absorb Defecty Child is fails. Darksie Virtues must be released."

"What do mean, 'released'?!" Taichi demanded, "What are you going to do to us?!"

"My Weed Killers will slays the Tainted Children! New Darksie Children bes chosen!" PetriWoodmon went on, "Tainted Beasts must too be struck down! Regrets I feel but is mercy compares to wickedshadow!" Tainted Beast Taichi could guess meant the digimon, but Weed Killers? He immediately readied his Tmail. **Sora! Something called the Weed Killers are after you and the others!** An error message flashed. _Damn it!_ "The Deceiver, Destroyer, will dies by my hand!"

The lights darted into the tree in the lake. The tree began to shake and rise, with the bottom rotating to the top, revealing the exact same head as in the lights. As the waves of water poured off, the two chunks of wood closest to the head turned out to be just elbows, connected to bulging forearms that looked about as big a Greymon. The upper arms, while thinner, didn't appear to have any trouble supporting the weight. The remaining four wood chunks were knees, the shins as big as the forearms. The body itself was completely upright, it's gigantic mass making it obvious why this monstrosity had four legs.

The DigiScanner's information on the behemoth burned in. PetriWoodmon was an ancient and overgrown Woodmon who's bark had become petrified. It no longer possessed the Woodmon's energy draining powers but its stone-like bark was near indestructible, protecting its old and rotted wood. Despite the poor condition of its inner body, it possesses an incredibly vitality allowing it wield its tremendous bulk with little effort. It can also fire pollen and seeds that grow in seconds, though the resulting plants die just as quickly. And there was some sort of life supporting energy detected inside its body that was likely enhancing its plant creating powers.

Greymon slammed into it, slightly nudging it back. "Greymon's got this," Taichi assured, both himself and Koushiro, "I mean, Warden of Life or not, its just a big piece of firewood."

"It's fossilized, Taichi," Koushiro said, not sounding at all assured, "Its wood's been replaced with alloys. It's not flammable." Wait, what?! Wood that wasn't burnable?! He sighed and prepared to send a Tmail to Greymon. **Okay, Greymon, according to Koushiro PetriWoodmon is made out of some sort of stone wood or something. Basically, its not flammable.** A loud grunt sounded, indicating that Greymon received the message.

Its tree trunk arms swooped down, lifting the dinosaur into the air and throwing him back. Kabuterimon slammed into PetriWoodmon from behind, lurching it forward slightly, wrapping his arms around PetriWoodmon's. Back on his feet, Greymon leapt at PetriWoodmon, latching on to its head and started prying at its mouth. A burst of yellow shot from PetriWoodmon's mouth, exploding into a powder against Greymon's head. Greymon fell off and stumbled away before falling to his knees in a fit of fiery coughs.

_ Greymon!_ Taichi looked at his CoreBlaster. _I can use the Aero Core to blow it away- no wait! That might just spread it! Maybe I should use Hydro to wash it?_ A yelp from Kabuterimon interrupted his thoughts. PetriWoodmon had just launched right up into the air. "Crap! Crap! Crap!" the beetle shouted as he scrambled away. PetriWoodmon crashed down next to him, splitting the ground, and Taichi lost his footing from the resulting tremor, biting back a scream as he fell. His back did not need that. He felt Koushiro take his hand.

"Let's do this slowly," the other boy ordered, "You're still pretty hurt."

"I'm aware of that," he grumbled as he slowly rose to his feet, wincing over his back's protests. He focused back on the battle just in time to see a greenish yellow haze overtake Kabuterimon. It faded, leaving the giant beetle wrapped in bushes and flowers with very visible thorns. He heard a gasp from Koushiro.

"I'm coming!" Greymon called, standing up while PetriWoodmon lumbered over to Kabuterimon. The digimon sounded a little hoarse from the earlier attack, but just fine otherwise. That was a huge relief. The plants holding the beetle disappeared into data particles but before he could get back in the air, PetriWoodmon grabbed him by the horn and lifted him up, swinging him down on the charging Greymon. Gritting his teeth, Taichi summoned his CoreBlaster but then banished it. There was no point; that little ray gun did not have anywhere near the firepower needed to break through PetriWoodmon's shell, and even if did, it was all he could do to stay standing. Doing anything to draw PetriWoodmon's attention was suicide.

A sudden blast of blue flames struck PetriWoodmon in the back of its head, leaving it in a layer of ice. The wooden behemoth stumbled back, its large arms flailing as a large glowing bird with a wolf in her talons flew in from behind it. _Birdramon! Garurumon! Sora and Ishida are okay! _Not that Taichi was entertaining the idea that something did happen, but it was still a big relief. PetriWoodmon slapped its hands against its face, shattering the ice as Birdramon lowered to the ground. Unfortunately, right as she released Garurumon, one of its arm swatted her on the side, sending her and Garurumon sprawling along the ground.

Taichi ran over to the pair. "What happened?!" he asked as Garurumon stood, "Where's Sora and Ish- uh, Yamato?!"

"We were separated," Garurumon growled, "I underestimated that Monochromon." He looked at the treewall. "I need to get to him! That Ogremon is still there!"

"Sora will help him!" Birdramon said as she stood.

"They will failures!" PetriWoodmon shouted, "All Darksie Childrens failures!"

"They will not!" Garurumon shouted back, "The fact that we still stand is proof!"

"You know there's only one way to get through the treewall, right?" Taichi asked, glaring at PetriWoodmon.

"Yes," Garurumon growled, "through PetriWoodmon!"

"And we will!" Birdramon said as she took off towards PetriWoodmon. As it swung at her, she swerved upward, launching a wind blast into its face. Garurumon followed with a stream of freeze against its nearest foot. PetriWoodmon moved its hands to smash the ice but a large blaze blasted into its face. It gave a roar and was suddenly in the air again, the ice shattering in a split second. _How can something that big jump that high?!_ Birdramon swiftly stopped above Greymon and fired a blazing cyclone and Greymon added his flames, recreating the red and blue firestorm that vaporized Phantomon. The beast landed on one rear leg, nearly falling over before catching itself with another, but no sign of any damage on its body.

With a snarl, Garurumon leapt on to PetriWoodmon's head. PetriWoodmon gave a snarl of its own as it reached for the wolf, but Birdramon and Kabuterimon latched on to its arms, holding them back. Garurumon fired a freeze blast into its face again, but this time the mouth was left open, allowing more of PetriWoodmon's roars.

PetriWoodmon's arms tore free and smashed the ice while Greymon fired a stream of blue-hot fire. As it moved its hands to block, a metal shard slammed into its face. Greymon and Birdramon delivered a second blazing cyclone while Kabuterimon fired more shards. PetriWoodmon's face. PetriWoodmon began to stumble back as its hands moved to block the assault.

Green vines shot out of PetriWoodmon's mouth, snaking down its body and along the ground. **Greymon! Its sending vines after you!** The moment Taichi sent the Tmail, the fire cyclone stopped and Greymon was leaping back. But the vines, no longer needing to slither beneath the cyclone, lunged at him even faster, wrapping around his ankles, tail, arms, mouth, and throat. "Greymon!"

"I'll save him!" Garurumon said.

"No, wait!" Taichi shouted. Birdramon was already on the vines, clawing at them, "Birdramon's got this! PetriWoodmon's probably a bit distracted-" PetriWoodmon's laughter punctuated the statement. Taichi growled to himself before continuing. "Focus on its knees," he instructed, "there's no way PetriWoodmon has four legs because its a soccer player."

Garurumon gave a nod and took off. Taichi turned his attention back to Greymon. Birdramon wasn't clawing at the vines anymore, but rather swooping down on them. As she curved back upwards, he could see the vines were darkened where she struck. _How strong are those things?!_ While Birdramon made her second assault on the vines, Kabuterimon fired a shard right into PetriWoodmon's open mouth. Taichi had to admit the sound it made as it coughed metal out was very gratifying.

PetriWoodmon inhaled deeply and expelled a bright yellow beam from its mouth. It streaked across the land as Taichi stumbled back, practically dragged by Koushiro. The beam passed by just in front, leaving in its wake a thick fence of thorny weeds. The sight was almost enough to make him want to sneeze. Greymon and Garurumon were both wrapped up in the thorns. "I'm coming!" Birdramon called as she placed herself above Greymon and flapped her wings in Garurumon's direction.

PetriWoodmon spit three of its yellow shots at Kabuterimon. The beetle managed to weave around the first two but the third struck him in the chest, leaving him enveloped in the yellow cloud. Coughing, he fell to the ground. PetriWoodmon stomped over to the fallen digimon, and raised a foot above him when one of Garurumon's ice bullets slammed against its knee, a blue fireball following. PetriWoodmon stepped back as the leaves holding Kabuterimon disappeared into data particles and spit out another yellow beam. Garurumon quickly jumped away but Greymon was overtaken, leaving him wrapped in weeds like that yellow beam left. Taichi wasted no time Tmailing his struggling partner. **They'll fade quickly! Just stay calm!**

Greymon's struggling began to settle down and the plants started fading. Garurumon shot PetriWoodmon's knee again and a shard from Kabuterimon followed. Taichi was positive it was the same knee getting hit each time, but still, no sign of damage. Greymon stood and Birdramon placed herself above him, the firestorm quickly following. PetriWoodmon moved both its hands, blocking the cyclone, and looked in Kabuterimon's and Garurumon's direction. A large venus flytrap head shot out of its mouth, clamping down on Kabuterimon.

"Let him go!" Garurumon roared, spitting ice bullets and battering plant, causing it to open and release Kabuterimon.

"Enough!" PetriWoodmon shouted at the firestorm faded, Greymon and Birdramon looking pretty winded. A quick movement of its legs, and it was in the air again, and this time falling towards Taichi and Koushiro! He turned and started to run, Koushiro just starting to follow with the ground shook with a_ crash_and he found himself lifted off his feet. As he landed, his back exploded with agony and then nothing.

* * *

Yamato gritted his teeth. This was a hard decision to make- no, make that accept. The choice itself was easy and he really hated himself for finding it so. "Jou-kun," he told Sora, "Even without Gabumon and Piyomon, we're still in better shape than Jou-kun." Sora looked down the river their partners had fallen into.

"I-I know you're right," she said, her voice cracking, "b-but I'm still worried." Yamato nodded. He felt the same. It was taking all of his willpower not to jump into that river and find Gabumon.

"The river leads back to the lake," he said as much to himself as to Sora, "They'll be with Koushiro-kun and Yagami-kun."

"B-But wh-what about th-the W-Weed Killers?" Mimi's voice was just over a whisper. She sounded afraid to speak up and was looking at the ground.

"We'll just have to keep moving," Sora answered coldly. Mimi practically flinched under the tone. Yamato almost felt sorry for her. Almost. He spared a glance at TK, who he was keeping right next to him. His little brother was completely silent, reigniting Yamato's anger. _To bring back those __memories__ for some __damn__ "__j__udgment"!_ Forcefully swallowing the rage, he looked ahead. The path continued winding through the trees. He grimaced. This was not the kind of place to traveling with a bunch of plant monsters after them.

He moved along the path with Sora taking up the rear, Mimi and TK between them, stopping at every sound. A small clearing was just ahead. "Got a clearing here," he called back to the others, "Wait until I signal you." He stepped into it. There was a boulder in the center but nothing else. "It looks safe," he announced.

Leading TK and Mimi towards the boulder, he took a look at the sole path leading out. More of the forest-labyrinth. "What's better?" Sora asked behind him, "Out in the open where we can at least see the Weed Killers-"

"Or on the trail where we might be hidden but so will they?" he finished. He had no idea. _We're not cut out for this! Why are we even here?!_ A scream! _Takeru! Mimi-san!_ He whipped around and saw a bush with long, stem-like limbs walking towards the two! The DigiScanner wasted no time telling him its identity. It was an artificial assassin digimon called Bushmon. Bushmon camouflaged themselves as bushes and could live off just water indefinitely but their stems were meant for drawing out blood. Being artificial, they had little in the way of special powers and their overall strength far below average, but they more than made up for it with their numbers and perfect camouflage. Even the strongest digimon have fallen to their swarms.

As the information was burning its way in, Yamato found himself rushing towards the killer plant, drawing his CoreSaber, and preparing to arm it with the Pyro Core. _No! Too close! __If that thing bursts into flames, TK and Mimi-san might get hurt!_ He threw himself in front of the Bushmon as one of its spear-like stems lunged for Mimi, throwing an arm in the way. He clenched his teeth as the stem penetrated his arm and the sensation of something being sucked out followed. _What else can I use?!_ Plants hated ice, but Cryo was on Garurumon. Electro? Wood wasn't really conductive, but it did burn. _That's it!_ He armed the Photo Core. The PhotoSaber lit up as he raised it and swung down. The blade passed right through the Bushmon leaving only the smell of burnt leaves as the digimon disappeared.

Right behind it, there was some sort of bug-like about Tentomon's size with a flower on its back. Plantmon. Another artificial assassin. These digimon can live entirely off sunlight, but are extremely carnivorous and territorial. The plant on its back can be made to look like any kind of plant and it can fire leaves sharp enough to cut through steel. Like the Bushmon, they were weak but hidden and numerous.

He set the Pyro Core to the CoreBlaster and started to move away from TK and Mimi, pointing the gun. He took a couple shots, the fireballs blasting against the ground near the Plantmon, but not hitting them. But the trio did turn and start following him which was just what he wanted. Something whizzed by his head. _The leaves!_ He threw himself on to the ground as more leaves shot right were his neck was. His gun still pointed out, he fired and struck the middle Plantmon, the creature disappearing in a fireball. One left… _There should be two!_ He felt something land on his back. Then a light flashed over top of him and the weight was gone. He rolled to his back to see Sora with a PhotoSaber, and pointing her PyroBlaster at the last Plantmon.

He took a quick look over at TK and Mimi. Three more Bushmon were approaching them. Mimi was holding TK and looking more than a little lost. Yamato opened fire, making sure to not hit the other two, but he did manage to take out a Bushmon. Unfortunately, more Plantmon began emerging behind the Bushmon. He began shooting at the group and Sora's fireballs joined in. He took a quick glance back and… more Plantmon?! "They just don't stop!" he growled, shooting at the new group.

"I just got those ones!" Sora complained. One Plantmon suddenly shot forward and the next thing Yamato knew, he was on his back with the Plantmon standing on his chest. Leaves fired off its back and Sora grave a yelp. His PhotoSaber still in hand, he managed to wave it enough to cut two of the Plantmon's legs off. It stumbled off of him and Sora gave a pained scream. Yamato quickly stood, bisecting the Plantmon, and saw that a Bushmon's stems were in her stomach. He blasted it with the PyroBlaster and screamed as he felt woody mandibles dig into his back. Sora grabbed Yamato by the shoulder, spun him, and with a flash of light from her PhotoSaber, the bite was gone. He turned back to thank her just in time for a Plantmon to tackle her to the ground. A flash of his PhotoSaber dealt with it, but he suddenly found himself being rushed by a pile of leaves as the Bushmon's stems entered his stomach.

No sooner had he screamed when Sora's PhotoSaber saved him again while two more Bushmon lunged at her from behind, digging into her shoulders. Yamato forced himself up at her cry, his bleeding stomach nearly throwing him back down. He managed to force himself into a rush behind her, sparing a brief look at TK and Mimi. Looked like they were completely forgotten by the plants. _At least we have some good news,_ he thought bitterly as he cut down the two Bushmon. Sora immediately pushed him aside, earning a sharp painful jolt from his stomach, and opened fire. The fireball exploded a little closer than he would've liked, but the smell of burnt leaves told him how much worse it could've been. _The wound's not that deep! Ignore it! Sora-san's in worse shape!_

Another Plantmon emerged from the mist. Gritting his teeth, Yamato yanked Sora aside as it fired several leaves right at her head, earning a yelp from her. Four more Plantmon came right behind. He swore to himself as he opened fire. One, two, three- and they jumped, biting into his shoulders. He clenched his teeth, struggling not to give them the satisfaction of his pained scream. Another slash of Sora's PhotoSaber saved him while he looked at she was facing. Three Bushmon, each with a Plantmon on its head. He pointed and fired, aiming at the Plantmon; they seemed to be the more dangerous of the two types. Two of the Plantmon were stuck down, but his third shot went low and struck the Bushmon instead. The Plantmon bolted off of its fallen ride and Sora screamed as it landed on her back with a bloody bite. Yamato swung PhotoSaber as carefully as he could while pointing the PyroBlaster behind himself and firing. It should at least keep the Bushmon back.

A Bushmon stem lanced his shoulder and his PhotoSaber flew from his hand as the scream escaped his throat. Sora whirled with her PhotoSaber, the Bushmon's stem disappearing as two more Plantmon came rushing towards her. _Just flesh wounds! _Yamato reminded himself as he recalled his PhotoSaber and rushed back, slicing through the pair. Six more came marching behind and he could just make out the silhouettes of three Bushmon. "I think PetriWoodmon's sent the entire forest after us!" he complained as he fired.

"Look on the bright side," Sora said, sounding just as frustrated, "When we're done with these guys, this place really will be safe!"

* * *

Afterword: Oh boy. Going over this chapter I'd realized I hadn't really paid much attention to how Yamato and Sora were feeling taking those hits. And that kind of thing really has to be covered in the planning.

I do like how the PetriWoodmon part came out.


	12. Order of the Green 05

PetriWoodmon gave a roar as it swung its arms at the dive bombing Birdramon. She was clearly too fast for it but, on the other hand, the wind blasts she was able to get off were being as ineffective as everything else thrown at it. Garurumon's ice bullets and Kabuterimon's shards were striking its knee from either side but they too were having little effect, if any. Taichi was still unconscious and all Koushiro could do was stare helplessly. Greymon had positioned himself between the two and PetriWoodmon, pelting the giant with fireballs. Koushiro wasn't exactly sure he liked Greymon potentially drawing PetriWoodmon's attention to them but, on the other hand, maybe they were safer with Greymon right there. He just didn't know.

A yelp and a crash came from behind. He jumped, tried to turn around, and fell on to his rear while attempting to summon his CoreBlaster. The weapon went flying right out of his hand. All he could was helplessly slide away as the… small white seal with blue stripes stared at him. The Digiscanner called the digimon Gomamon, and he could command fish and fire pressurized water.

"It figures," Gomamon grumbled, "I _would_ evolve into a form that doesn't fly when I'm six feet above the ground." Evolve? It was then Koushiro noticed the tuft of red hair on the seal's head.

"Pukamon?" he carefully asked. Gomamon's face lit up.

"You recognize me?!" he chirped, "Jou really came through, didn't he?!"

"Yes…" Koushiro muttered, trying to process what he was seeing. His thoughts were interrupted by an enraged roar, even by PetriWoodmon's standards. Koushiro risked a look as he stood and its hands were raised while taking on a green glow. Birdramon was no longer attacking, probably due to caution, though Garurumon and Kabuterimon still were.

"What is its problem?" Gomamon asked.

"Paranoia, delusions, megalomania, I would imagine some narcissism…" Koushiro rattled off. Gomamon stared at him blankly. "Its insane," he clarified, before remembering what Gomamon's appearance meant. "Anyways, does this mean Yamato-san and Sora-san found Jou-san?"

"No ide- whoa! Big plants!" Koushiro quickly looked back at PetriWoodmon. Three stalks going above its head had grown behind it. On the top of each was what looked like a purple venus flytrap. One opened up and a projectile launched itself straight into Greymon with a burst of brown flakes, leaving the dinosaur wrapped in a bunch of the same thorny plants PetriWoodmon's beam left behind. Greymon roared as he fell over.

"I'm coming!" Garurumon shouted as he raced to Greymon, but a similar projectile struck him in the back, leaving him in the same position. The plant then joined the other two in firing on Birdramon and Kabuterimon who were clearly having a difficult time evading. Kabuterimon went down. "No!" Koushiro shouted, starting to move to his partner.

"Easy there!" Gomamon said, "Tall, wooden, and ugly's gonna target you too!"

"But-" Koushiro started but stopped as his logical side took over. Kabuterimon was too far away for him to reach unnoticed. He'd have to count on Birdramon Garurumon. And then Birdramon went down. And in his peripheral vision, he could just barely make out Garurumon's stripes. He was bound too.

"Its over," Koushiro despaired, "We've lost." He felt himself start to tremble. _I'm going to die. That thing is going to kill me._

"If I could just evolve again!" Gomamon shouted, "PetriWoodmon's in water! That's my territory!" _Jou-san!_

"Yes! Where's Jou-san?! I have to awaken him!" Waking someone who just activated a digivice felt like the height of cruelty but things were desperate. Realistically, Gomamon's evolved form wouldn't make any real difference but it was still better than nothing.

"I don't know!" Gomamon answered, sounding incredibly frustrated, "That stupid Veemon sucker pun- er headbutted me. The next thing I knew I was washing down the river leading here and those roots were closing behind me so I can't go back!" Koushiro closed his eyes, the spark of hope fading. It really was hopeless.

He looked at Greymon, still struggling with the vines. If he couldn't break out, there was no chance Kabuterimon could. _But he is considerably closer_, he noted,_ I can at least help him_.He summoned his CoreSaber and activated the Photo Core since the PyroSaber might accidentally burn the dinosaur. He moved towards Greymon and swung through the vines. His blade bounced off but there was a little visible damage. "Please calm down, Greymon," he said to the struggling dinosaur, "I'm cutting you free."

"I'll help the others then," Greymon said, "And hurry!" PetriWoodmon was lumbering towards Birdramon. Koushiro's heart froze as he realized PetriWoodmon could simply step on her now.

"Why isn't Sora there?!" Gomamon demanded, "And where's Yamato?!"

"Looking for Jou-san!" Koushiro answered, Desperately hacking at the vines, "Garurumon and Birdramon fell into the river!"

"And Taichi's still messed up," Gomamon said, "Crap! Jou! You gotta evolve me again!" Gomamon suddenly took on the familiar glow. _What?! That's impossible! There's no way Jou-san could have recovered so quickly!_ Yet, somehow he did. Koushiro watched in awe as Gomamon took his new form. Ikkakumon. An aquatic digimon whose fur masked an extremely durable skin. His explosive horn was made of mithral and was capable of piercing virtually any alloy.

Any alloy? He recalled the DigiScanner's information on PetriWoodmon. _That stone-like bark is what makes it so invincible! Jou-san! You've saved us!_"I think you can beat it, Ikkakumon!" Koushiro called out. Ikkakumon just started blankly. "Ikkakumon?" Oh, no. Koushiro remembered what happened when Agumon evolved to Greymon the first time. _His instincts are taking over!_ No, no, no! He didn't need this now! "Ikkakumon!"

"Come on, Pukamon!" Taichi's voice sounded, "We need you!" Ikkakumon blinked and shook his head. _Taichi-san?!_ Koushiro looked. Yes! Taichi was awake and even getting back to his feet!

"Taichi-san!" He barely noticed the tears of relief running down his cheeks. Now that Taichi was back, it somehow felt like things were turning around.

"Sorry, Koush," Taichi said with a smile, "but I'm taking over now. You good?" Koushiro could only nod. "Come on, Pukamon! I know you're in there!" Ikkakumon blinked.

"Oh, sorry! Kind of forgot who I was!" he apologized, "Good thing I'm such a laid back guy!" He looked at the battle. "Uh oh!" His horn fired. Koushiro looked and saw that PetriWoodmon had its foot right above Birdramon, wearing a sadistic grin. Ikkakumon's horn exploded against its face and it stumbled back a couple steps with an angry yelp. "I was expecting a bit more," Ikkakumon complained.

"I don't think it moved fast enough for penetration," Koushiro informed, returning to his job of free Greymon, trying to fight the returning despair. Taichi was awake again and, as illogical as it sounded, that meant they still had a chance.

"Wait!" Ikkakumon cried out, "I'm getting something else! I feel… stronger.. and watery?"

"The Hydro Core!" Taichi said, "Jou must've sent you it! Can we count on him or what?!" Koushiro could only nod. Jou shouldn't even be conscious! How was he able to help?!

A watery _bang_ and a few drops of water splashing over him snapped Koushiro back to reality. Ikkakumon's horn blasted by at a far greater speed than before, leaving a trail of spraying water behind. Within an instant, it was gone, and an explosion on PetriWoodmon's forehead immediately followed. PetriWoodmon screamed, staggering back, behind the flytraps, while clutching its head.

"Boom! Headshot!" Ikkakumon shouted. Koushiro's PhotoSaber went through the vines and Greymon shot right to his feet, the rest of the vines falling off.

"Taichi!" Greymon happily called out.

"Later!" Taichi commanded, "Save the others!"

Koushiro allowed himself to fall back into a sitting position while Greymon ran over to Garurumon, shooting a fireball at one the flytraps. It struck and the plant was particles. The other two fired at Greymon. Greymon fired back, a fireball hitting one of the seeds and Ikkakumon's horn lanced through the other, and embedded itself in another flytrap's mouth. With the explosion it was gone. Greymon struck down the last flytrap with another fireball as his claws ripped through the vines holding Garurumon.

"I'll take care of the tree!" Ikkakumon called out, pulling himself along the ground at an impressive speed.

"Target the knees!" Garurumon responded. "We'll save Birdramon and Kabuterimon!"

"Tainted Beast!" PetriWoodmon shouted, glaring at Ikkakumon, "Life greater than Taint!" Its hands no longer covering its head, the missing chunk exposed a bright green glow. Was that the life energy PetriWoodmon had inside it? Koushiro activated the DigiScanner and brought up a magnified image of PetriWoodmon's injury. Very brief flashes of purple were appearing infrequently. What could they mean?

Right as Ikkakumon reached the water, PetriWoodmon fired its vegetation beam, leaving Ikkakumon encased. But his horn still fired off, embedding itself into the knee Garurumon and Kabuterimon were attacking. It detonated, obliterating the knee in a spray of stone-like bark and PetriWoodmon roared and began to fall as its severed leg fell over and disappeared. Bright green vines shot out of the stump, wrapping themselves into the shape of a new leg.

"No!" Koushiro found himself shouting. That wasn't fair! How could PetriWoodmon repair itself so easily?! _Right, life energy._

"Bet that took a lot out of it," Taichi commented. Koushiro blinked. That was true. Creating those vines with enough strength to sustain its bulk had to be difficult. Another roar from PetriWoodmon, its vine leg now covered blue fire, not unlike Greymon's enhanced fireballs. It started moving back while spitting allergen balls. Koushiro had to look away and cover his face as the growing cloud reached him. Thankfully, it was only seconds until he felt Birdramon's winds blowing it away.

PetriWoodmon was now back where it had emerged, raking a hand through the water, dousing the burning leg. With a shout, Ikkakumon flung himself from the shore into the water and rocketed towards it. It fired its vegetation beam as Ikkakumon submerged, the weeds appearing on the water's surface. PetriWoodmon started to look for the walrus when Kabuterimon's shard struck his head from above. Ikkakumon popped out of the water and something glinted. PetriWoodmon's knee opposite of the vine leg exploded and PetriWoodmon roared again as the vines grew to replace the leg. The purple flashes in that green light were occurring much more frequently now.

It squatted, lowering itself into the water. "Crap! Ikkakumon! Get out of there!" Taichi shouted suddenly. Koushiro suddenly realized what PetriWoodmon was about to do. **Kabuterimon! It's going to jump! You and Ikkakumon have to get away!** Greymon and Garurumon both moved between the two boys and the lake. Birdramon landed right behind them.

PetriWoodmon launched into the air as Kabuterimon started flying back at a height nothing its size should've been capable of reaching. Just past the digimon, Koushiro could see the bulge of water that had to be Ikkakumon. Kabuterimon must have warned him. PetriWoodmon came down with a _CRASH_ that bowled Koushiro right over.

Greymon and Birdramon immediately fired their fire cyclone and a cloud of steam washed over. Koushiro immediately hugged his laptop as close to himself as possible, making sure all vents were pressed against him, in a desperate attempt to keep all moisture out. He opened his eyes, and through the fog, he could see a bright green light with occasional purple flashes.

Then everything turned yellow and he couldn't breathe.

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With a pained shout, Yamato slashed through a Bushmon. As it disappeared, he allowed himself to stumble forward as he agonizingly turned around for whatever else was there. Nothing. Silence, except for his ragged breathing. Sora was looking at him, looking at least as bad he felt. "Did we just fight off an army of bioweapons?" she asked.

"W-We did," he realized. _I can't believe we- no, calm down! First check on TK!_ He turned to look and immediately growled. Mimi was kneeling and holding his little brother in a protective embrace. _So now you're his friend again?_ He shook his head, that previous anger almost gone. _Stop overreacting. __It's not like you were _that_ much better._ He started over to the pair. _Fought an army for you bro. Would Yagami-__kun__ do that?_ Stupid question. Of course he would.

"We did it," Sora announced from behind him, "It should be safe now."

"Y-You did?" Mimi asked cautiously.

"Yama!" TK shouted, bursting right out of her arms into a hug that nearly bowled him over. He clenched his teeth to keep from crying out over the jolt of pain from his… everything. Which really wasn't hard; he too surprised at his brother's suuden affection to really notice.

"T-TK?" Did TK really forgive him that easily? Or was it just because of the terrifying experience he just went through? _Of course it is. You haven't done anything that Yagami-__kun__ wouldn't have done._ Shaking that depressing thought out of his head, he returned TK's hug.

"Something's coming!" Sora said suddenly. Yamato immediately straightened. A lump of ground was moving towards them.

"Go back to Mimi-san," he ordered, "and then get on that boulder! You might be safer there!"

"But Yama-" TK started to protest.

"Come on, TK-chan," Mimi's voice sounded, "This hard enough for them already." The girl dragged the boy off. Large grassy stalks burst out burst out of the mound. On impulse, Yamato fired his PyroBlaster, and the grass retreated.

"Tanglemon!" Sora called out.

"Whatever you do," Yamato shouted to TK and Mimi who were climbing on to the boulder, "stay quiet and try not to move! Tanglemon is blind!" He looked back at Sora. She was holding an arm out and… cutting it with her PhotoSaber, but with the energy blade turned off?!

"Tanglemon tasted me once already," she said as her blood dripped to the ground, "I figure it'll want the rest." Grimacing, Yamato followed her example.

"Making it a little more tempting," he said, doing his best not to look at TK. His younger brother had to be freaked out by this. The grassy tentacles burst out right between him and Sora, throwing the two off their feet.

The tentacles clustered together, forming a club, and swung down where Sora had landed. She rolled out of the way and snapped off a fireball but the tentacles shot back into the mound. The mound began to move towards him. He aimed the PyroBlaster as he started moving back and fired, blasting away dirt, but nothing else. He gripped the PhotoSaber, re-energized the blade, and lunged, stabbing at the lump's center but the tentacles burst out and wrapped around his body the way they had bound Sora before. A flash of Sora's PhotoSaber released him and he landed on his front.

As he pushed himself back up, the ground in front exploded as the tentacles burst out in their club form, followed by a yelp from Sora. He saw the girl land on her back and the club swung down on to her stomach. She rolled to her side, clutching her bleeding stomach, while Yamato gave an angry shout and stabbed at the ground again. At impossible speed, the club unraveled and, right as the blade started to penetrate the soil, several tentacles struck him across the face so hard, he felt his body spin and started to fall over when another tentacle wrapped around his neck.

The tentacle released him with the smell of burning grass. He looked at Sora who held out her PhotoSaber while holstering her PyroBlaster and it looked like she was concentrating. The PhotoSaber gave a black flash, indicating a change to the Astro Core. She drove the AstroSaber into the ground and the mound started moving towards her. _Of course! Since Tanglemon relies on vibrations, the AstroSaber's gravity has to be like a magnet!_ Sora started to run while dragging the gravity blade behind her.

Yamato tightened his grip on the PhotoSaber and chased after. As he got close, tentacles burst out but Sora immediately lifted her blade in an overhead swing, the tentacles seemingly caught in its gravity. Yamato lunged, plunging his weapon through the ground. The Tanglemon immediately took off like a rocket, yanking the blade out of his hand. He watched his weapon go through countless directions as the clearly panicking Tanglemon tried to shake it off. Sora plunged her blade into the ground and Tanglemon charged right at it. The raised ground reached the weapon, stopped, and data particles floated out from the mound.

As Sora pulled her blade out of the ground and stepped away, Yamato stared at the unmoving mound, waiting for some kind of sign the Tanglemon was still there somehow. Nothing. He carefully crept over and picked up his weapon. Still nothing. He looked at Sora. "That seems to be it." She nodded.

Yamato started back over to TK and Mimi, immediately nearly being bowled over by a small blur. "Yama!" TK cried, "You were hurt and I couldn't help and I'm sorry and-"

"TK, stop!" Yamato pleaded as he knelt down, suddenly remembering just how messed up he was, "You stayed safe. That's all I wanted."

"Thank you," Mimi practically squeaked, "Y-You saved us."

"W-We did," Sora responded, sounding as awkward as Yamato felt. That memory of Mimi yelling at TK, even slapping him, didn't inspire the anger and hate it used to. Was it just the recent danger making him forget?

"We've kept Jou-kun waiting long enough," he said, "and as much as Sora-san and I need to rest, it's not safe. Let's just move on."

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Taichi struggled pulling against the tree to get himself to his feet as he continued coughing and sneezing over the yellow mist. _To think I thought allergies were __just__ an excuse!_ His wounds were practically burning and every muscle aching. The only thing keeping him on his feet was the fact he nearly suffocated when he was lying down. The mist was thicker on the bottom. _Its not a mist, its that dust from his allergy balls!_

A warm breeze came down on him. _Birdramon!_ He could almost feel the powder being forced straight down. Leaning against the tree, he tried to open his eyes. His eyelids felt like they were coated in sand that his eyes were trying to wash out with a liquid itching powder. He could hear a lot of stomping around too. What was going on?

"Koushiro-han!" he heard Kabuterimon shout.

"Wh-What happened?!" he choked out, mentally cursing his eyelids.

"I think he's fainted!" Birdramon answered, "I think the powder was too much!"

"I have to get him out of here!" Kabuterimon said, "Sorry guys!"

"Go!" Taichi ordered as loudly as he could, "Save him!" He punctuated his order with a coughing fit.

"What about you, Taichi?," Birdramon said as he heard Kabuterimon land, "If I let anything-"

"I'm fine!" Taichi interrupted, finally getting his eyes open. He looked at the blurry red mass as the purple mass that he figured was Kabuterimon took off. "Down Kabuterimon! Stop PetriWoodmon!"

"U-Understood!" Birdramon responded. The blur moved with the sound of a powerful flap. His eyes starting to clear, Taichi immediately looked towards the sounds of the battle, just in time to see PetriWoodmon jump at Greymon with a swing of its fist. Greymon jumped back, but PetriWoodmon's punch grazed him, throwing him to his back. Garurumon's ice flames struck one of PetriWoodmon's vines legs and it slapped a hand down at the wolf. Garurumon leapt back just in time as Birdramon fired a wind blast into the hole in PetriWoodmon's head. PetriWoodmon roared and spit an allergy ball that she swerved around.

Greymon launched a fireball into PetriWoodmon's vine leg though the leg didn't ignite. _Too wet. But I'll bet that'll be good for Garurumon._ PetriWoodmon raked a hand through the mud and water right as Garurumon fired more freeze, creating a wall of ice. PetriWoodmon then lunged and punched through the ice, a chunk colliding Garurumon as he tried to leap away. He landed on his side as PetriWoodmon raked its hand through the ground again, this time towards Greymon as Birdramon positioned herself above him for another cyclone. Both digimon were taken down by the wall of mud.

_Where's Ikkakumon?!_ Taichi wondered. With PetriWoodmon fighting up close like that, it was a perfect chance for Ikkakumon's sharp shooting. He looked around the walrus. The ground was covered in thin stems. Great. Was Ikkakumon- _Oh no!_ There he was, on his back, and wrapped up in much thicker stems. And worse, Ikkakumon was facing the opposite way of the battle.

Taichi made his way over as quickly as he could without tripping. If he went down, he wasn't getting back up. "Ikkakumon!" he called upon reaching the digimon. Ikkakumon looked at him.

"Hey Taichi," he said rather nonchalantly, "Could really use some help here. Birdramon can't do anything without burning me and Kabuterimon's too afraid of drawing attention to Koushiro."

"I think PetriWoodmon would notice any of them freeing you," Taichi said, "You are the biggest threat to it." He studied the stems. They weren't looking as strong as the ones PetriWoodmon had created earlier. They were a bit wilted and he could see brown spots. But it wasn't disappearing, either. Perhaps it couldn't create healthy plants in such a short time? He summoned his ElectroSaber. _Crap! That's like the worst choice!_ And he'd already used up Photo with that Tailmon ambush. And with Pyro on Greymon… _Um, okay what do I use. Cryo? No, the vines won't freeze fast enough. Aero's good at cutting but it can't do little cuts._

All that was left was Geo. The GeoSaber took on a stone blade that managed to be better than steel or iron with a good, sharp edge. Of course, these vines felt like cutting through steel but some specks did break off._Really wish this blade was serrated._"I've got this. Get ready to turn PetriWoodmon into firewood."

He heard the roar of Greymon's and Birdramon's fire cyclone. A quick glance while hacking at the stems revealed PetriWoodmon blocking the firestorm as it slowly stepped towards the two digimon. Garurumon leapt from behind it, scaling its back, and fired a freeze into the hole in its head. PetriWoodmon shrieked, clutching its head and stumbled back as the cyclone faded. With another roar- _Seriously, how strong is PetriWoodmon's throat anyhow?_ PetriWoodmon raised is its arms and looked up. It began glowing green with purple flashes and an explosion of yellow dust burst right out of its body. _Not again!_ "More allergy powder!"

"I'm really growing to hate that guy!" Ikkakumon growled. Taichi stopped swinging and held his breath. The dust coated Greymon and Garurumon, leaving them in coughing fits, but by the time it reached him, it was only up to his knees. And PetriWoodmon was slumped over, visibly breathing very heavily.

_We'__re__ getting to him,_ he happily noted and returned to cutting the stems as Birdramon started blowing the dust off of Greymon. Greymon's coughing calmed down and she flew over to Garurumon while the stems snapped. Ikkakumon rolled over, the rest of the stems falling off. "Payback time!" he shouted as he pushed himself towards PetriWoodmon, who was just starting to straighten back up.

"No!" PetriWoodmon shouted and fired its weed beam. Ikkakumon swerved to the side, dodging it, and fired back. A third leg shattered. PetriWoodmon shrieked then Garurumon's freeze struck a vine leg, coating it in a layer of ice. Right after that came the fire cyclone, burning through the remaining vine leg. PetriWoodmon's frozen leg snapped and it fell over with a wail.

"We've got it!" Taichi couldn't help but shout.

"I bes life!" PetriWoodmon shouted, "You bes unlife! Life greater than unlife!" PetriWoodmon began glowing green again, with the purple flashing so frequently, it was almost giving Taichi a headache to look at. The scattered trees began glowing along with the treewall. In fact, it looked like the entire forest had had lit up. Complete with those headache inducing purple flashes.

_What's going on?_ Dread began to bubble in his stomach. He suddenly remembered how much of a wasteland File was. This forest was not natural and with PetriWoodmon's plant creation powers… _Oh crap!_ He quickly summoned the AstroBlaster and changed it to Cryo. The _bang_ of one of Ikkakumon's horns rang out and projectile exploded against PetriWoodmon, but no damage. Instead, the trees began to disintegrate and their particles flew into PetriWoodmon. Ikkakumon fired again, Greymon, Garurumon, and Birdramon joining in, but nothing worked. Whatever it was doing wasn't being stopped by anything.

The converging lights molded around it becoming a green and purple blob. The blob took on the form of a gigantic tree and lights faded. The DigiScanner information burned its way in. PetriWoodmon: Vital Mode. PetriWoodmon had used its strong vitality to reignite its life force, rebirthing its body. Its bark is softer but its wood inside is now healthy and just as strong. Its immobile in this form but can create more complex plants. Vital Mode is primarily for recovery.

_It's healing itself?!_ Well, fine. It should be flammable now. And with Ikkakumon's shots, it won't matter. In fact, Ikkakumon just fired one. It exploded but just one small chunk was broken off. And it immediately regenerated. Greymon blasted the leaves with a fireball. They ignited but after a few seconds, the flames died out. The DigiScanner warned that the life energy within PetriWoodmon was extremely active. He looked around. The treewall was gone but the rest of the trees were still there and glowing. _So we're literally fighting the entire forest?! _

"You bes unlife!" PetriWoodmon shouted, "I bes life! Life beats unlife! Feel wrath of life!" Several trees disappeared in three rays of green and purple light and shot into the ground just in front of it. The ground began to shake as three figures began to emerge. They were big. Very big. Wooden looking of course. And with four legs… Taichi's mouth went dry. _They look just like PetriWoodmon!_ Indeed, three copies of PetriWoodmon stood in front of the real one. They were even the same size!

Birdramon went over Greymon for another cyclone, but a yellow beam from one clone blasted against Greymon's head directly, throwing him back. It then leapt at Birdramon with shocking speed and slapped her to the ground. It landed, its feet stomping down on the two digimon. Taichi's heart froze as they disappeared in a flash of light. "_Grey__mon_!"

No, wait! Greymon was still there! And so was Birdramonmon! They just reverted back to Agumon and Piyomon. Taichi's hand unconsciously wiped his tears away as he watched another PetriWoodmon fire its allergy balls through Garurumon's freeze. Fired with more force than the real PetriWoodmon, the frozen balls struck wolf, exploding in a spray of ice and yellow dust. Garurumon fell into a coughing fit and the PetriWoodmon drove a fist down into the wolf. With a flash, he was Gabumon again.

The third PetriWoodmon was firing its yellow beam at Ikkakumon. _You can do this! You beat the real one! You can take these fakers!_ Ikkakumon moved through the water with impressive agility, evading the beam, but the beam was leaving the usual weeds in place, limiting the places Ikkakumon could go. A horn fired and a knee exploded. But the leg didn't fall off. In fact, the knee wasn't even that damaged. _Its body is young!_ Taichi realized, _It doesn't have the weakness!_

Within moments, Ikkakumon was encased in the weeds again. The PetriWoodmon lumbered over to Ikkakumon while the other two raised their feet above the fallen digimon. "No!" Taichi shouted, knowing there was nothing he could do. It was over. PetriWoodmon won. Sure they still had Kabuterimon, but he couldn't beat PetriWoodmon alone.

"Kill all at once!" the real PetriWoodmon said. The PetriWoodmon that trapped Ikkakumon put both its hands on the front and rear of Ikkakumon. The hands swung. The legs above Agumon, Piyomon, and Gabumon came down. Taichi looked away, not wanting to witness his failure to protect Agumon.

Silence. All Taichi could hear was his beating heart. No sound of a stomp or anything. He slowly turned around, dreading the horrific sight awaiting him. The PetriWoodmon clones were… still standing with their legs raised? Their positions hadn't changed at all, though their wood was looking rather dark. And… they were disintegrating into data particles!

And PetriWoodmon itself, it too was darker its, its eyes just a lifeless black. Its leaves brown. It too was disintegrating. Taichi looked around. The trees were disappearing too. _D-Did we win? How?_


	13. Order of the Green 06

"You worse than greensie plum eater!" a Goblimon shouted as he charged at Yamato, club raised. With a resigned sigh, he reduced the green nuisance to particles with a few Pyro shots. Looking around the stadium, or whatever this giant tree was supposed to be, he couldn't see any other digimon. He looked at Sora who was next to him, her eyes showing the same regret he felt. When they had reached the giant tree, they both knew there would be some resistance, but surely defeating the Weed Killers would have at least inspired a few surrenders?

But, no. As far as Yamato could tell, none of them took the hint. He and Sora found themselves facing a repeat of the Weed Killers… only to then learn why it was just Ogremon, Grizzlymon, and Kuwagamon who attacked the camp. The digimon here were even weak enough for Gabumon and Piyomon to take, let alone Garurumon and Birdramon. Nothing compared to the Weed Killers but that didn't stop them from trying. Despite acting entirely in defense, looking around the empty stadium, Yamato felt like he was the bad guy.

"I'm just glad Mimi-san and TK-kun stayed back," Sora said. Yamato nodded. He really didn't like the idea of those two staying out of his sight but it was probably better than exposing TK to anymore violence, especially when it was him causing it. "I'll go get them." As she left, Yamato looked around, mostly to distract himself from the growing fear that the digimon were just a distraction. TK and Mimi were just outside and Yamato always made a point of looking back. Nothing would have happened without him noticing, right?

A giant bulb with a purple glow distracted him from his fears. It was right in the center of the stadium, looking like a big flower that had wrapped around something. "Yama!" TK's voice smashed through his fears. Most of them.

"Stay back!" he commanded, almost wincing at the expression on his little brother's face. He did it again. "There's a strange plant in the center," he quickly explained, "It might be dangerous. I'm going to investigate it." He looked at Sora who was just behind TK, her expression filled with a sympathy that only made him feel worse. Behind her, Mimi looked sick, no doubt thinking of that battle. He didn't blame her.

"Wait," Sora interrupted, "Let's look in these cages or whatever first." That was probably a good idea. While Yamato figured they were just for holding prisoners, they could also be some sort of trap for anyone who tampered with that big bulb.

"I'm taking point," he said. If something happened, well, Sora would be a lot more missed than him. She gave a visibly reluctant nod. He slowly started moving along the ledge, TK and Sora right behind with Mimi trailing at a slight distance.

The cages along the ledge were just small openings dug into the wood lined with thorny looking stems as bars. Obviously a prison. Empty, but given how digimon bodies never remained, it was hard not to imagine the prisoners the Order would have locked up. _Are__we__ even the first kids to be pulled into this nightmare?_

One cage had something. A green bulb lying on its side. It was hard to tell in the dark but it seemed almost familiar- "Tanemon!" Mimi blurted out. The bulb rolled over, exposing her face, and immediately hopped to her feet. "Are you okay?!"

"Get back!" Yamato ordered, raising his PhotoSaber. Once Mimi was out of the way, he sliced through the stems. They gave a little resistance but nothing compared to the treewall.

"Mimi!" Tanemon cried out the moment the stems were cut, barreling out of the cage and into the girl's arms. "It was so awful!"

"What'd they do to you?!" Mimi asked, visibly holding her own tears back.

"They tied me up and kept lecturing about plants," Tanemon complained, "Constantly! It was so _boring_! Do you know the full process of which this tree absorbs sunlight and feeds it to those colorful bulbs? _I sure do_!" _Well,_ Yamato figured as Mimi hugged her partner, _a__t least Tanemon wasn't hurt._

"U-Um…" TK trailed off, looking nervously at Mimi. A bit of Yamato's anger towards the girl returned but he forced it back down. This was hardly the time. "I-Is Purple Tokomon okay?"

"Aah!" Tanemon yelped and pulled back from Mimi a little. She pointed a leaf at the big bulb in the center. "That's right! It was hard to tell, I mean this was the worst seat, but I think Purple Tokomon and Jou are inside that big one!" TK immediately turned to the plant but Sora had her hands on his shoulders.

"Remember what Yamato-kun said?" she asked. TK slumped a little and looked at Yamato with pleading eyes.

"Y-Yama-" he started but Yamato cut him off.

"We're not leaving without Purple Tokomon," he assured. He looked at the large bulb.

"I think it's safe to cut it," Tanemon said, "The Order uses them to hold the tougher prisoners. I have no idea why Jou and Purple Tokomon would be in there."

"You know some things about the Order?" Sora asked. Yamato figured she was talking about those bits of knowledge each of the digimon just had. Tanemon gave a little nod.

"A little. But I do know I don't like them. I feel like they did something real bad and when I try to guess what it was, I get real mad."

"Well, I'm going to check out the bulb," Yamato said, "Sora, you stay back in case something happens." She gave a visibly reluctant nod. Slowly, he turned and headed for the green ramp leading to the center platform. It surprised him how stone like the ramp was. _And now for the plant._ Each step he took came slower than the last as he held his breath, waiting for the bulb to spit some sort of seed at him or something.

It remained perfectly still, though he could barely see movement from inside. The purple light was more of a thick haze; he could barely make out the silhouette he was seeing. Or, silhouettes if Tanemon was right. And looking at the pod, he wasn't sure he wanted her to be. Purple was not a good color for air to be.

He reached the pod. No reaction. He raised his PhotoSaber, aiming at the side of the pod to minimize his chance of hitting whoever was in there. He slowly brought the glowing blade down, making a slight cut and stopped as the purple gas began seeping out. He used the DigiScanner. It was… Tsukaimon poison! Fear for Jou's safety turned his cut into a full slash. As soon as the chunk of plant was down, a projectile rocketed out, colliding into TK.

"TK! TK! TK!"

"Purple Tokomon!" Yamato just stared as TK practically crushed his partner with a hug. And Tsukaimon looked to be trying to do the same. Yamato couldn't help but smile at the scene. A rustling caught his attention. _Jou!_ He quickly turned his attention back to the pod, now just a pile of planty rags and someone trying to push them off. Yamato quickly pulled one off, revealing a distraught Jou.

"Yamato-san?! Uh, thank you!" he exclaimed, "It was so disgusting in there!"

"Y-You're okay?" Yamato asked, a bit dumbfounded. That thing was filled with Tsukaimon's poison. And for that matter, why was Tsukaimon poisoning it?

"Um, yes," Jou answered, "It's surprising but I was able to activate my digivice."

"Can we go now?!" Mimi interrupted, "It's creepy here and we found everyone and-"

"Okay, okay!" Yamato held a hand up and looked at Jou. "Let's talk when we get back."

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Leaning against the nearest tree, Taichi made sure to take slow and careful breaths. His entire body was screaming for him to lie down and pass out but he couldn't. Not yet. Sora and Ishida hadn't returned from rescuing the others and Taichi was not going to rest until he knew they were all safe. Besides, with how red his bandages were now, he wasn't sure he wanted to risk sleeping. Not until Jou looked at him. _At least this time __it really wasn't my fault__._

"Um, Taichi-san?" Taichi looked down at the boy sitting next to him. His legs began to tremble with envy at the sight of Koushiro not standing. _Get over it. If I go down, I'm not getting back up._ "I really wish I could apologize for leaving the battle like that."

"Me too," Tentomon said. The bug next to Koushiro, looking more than a little sullen. "I intended to find a safe spot for Koushiro-han but-" Taichi cut him off.

"You did the right thing. I couldn't protect Koushiro and, now that I think about it…" he took a breath. This little realization absolutely sickened him. "I should've gone with you. I couldn't do anything. I was just a weak point for Greymon." He hated admitting that. Abandoning his partner like that felt completely wrong. It _was_ wrong. _I have to get stronger somehow._ But how?

"To be honest, Tentomon, there was little you could've done," Koushiro added, putting a hand on Tentomon's head, "Your metal shard just didn't carry the necessary impact."

"But maybe if you risked the Electro Core?" Tentomon asked. Koushiro shook his head.

"Far too dangerous with all the water, but even without, wood is a poor conductor. I don't believe it was particularly vulnerable to electricity."

"Or fire," Taichi added, "Or ice. Or wind. Or anything." He waited for Gomamon to bring up how well his attacks worked. Nothing. The seal was staring into the forest, waiting for Jou's return. With PetriWoodmon's death, the treewall and giant trees were gone but the normal sized trees remained. Or maybe the big trees were all used to make the clones. Taichi really didn't care. The fact was, the forest was much more ordinary now with a nice clean view of that creepy sky he really tried to not look at. Good thing the building the children all slept in was untouched by the battle with how exposed the clearing was now. He was not looking forward to seeing that sky at night.

He spared a quick glance to his other side and exhaled in relief. Yokomon and Tsunomon were still there. Along with Koromon, of course, all three of them having gone from unconscious to sleeping, but Yokomon and Tsunomon meant Sora and Ishida were still okay. _Now if only Tsukaimon and Tanemon were here. Or better yet, TK and Mimi. _A throb from his legs warned him not to get any ideas about hunting down that Ogremon himself.

"Looks like everyone's just about here," Koushiro said. Taichi blinked and looked around. No sign of them anywhere. How did Koushiro know? "I'm using the map, Taichi." Koushiro sounded a little amused.

"Uh, right," Taichi absently responded. It would make sense that with PetriWoodmon gone the digivices would work again. Or maybe it was the trees? After all, Phantomon couldn't block the digivice. Just interfere with it a little. _And of course Koushiro would go for the map first chance he got._ Wait, map? _Map!_ His face heating from embarrassment, Taichi brought up the map. Five digivice icons, one a light gray, one white, one blue, and two darkened. And they were all approaching the forest border. He'd be able to see them soon enough.

The seconds crawled by before he could finally see the figures emerging from the forest. "Jou!" Gomamon suddenly cried out and took off. Uh, oh. **Incoming Pukamon!** He sent the Tmail to everyone; no time to pick targets. How was Gomamon able to move so fast?! _Probably should tell them about Piyomon and Gabumon too._ **Just so you guys know, we went through a major against some tree monster called PetriWoodmon. Agumon, Piyomon, and Gabumon used up everything they had and turned back to Koromon, Yokomon, and Tsunomon. So don't freak and wake them.** That last bit was more directed at Jou and Mimi, though he imagined Sora might overreact too.

He sagged against the tree, finally allowing himself to relax a little. Just a little, otherwise he'd pass right out, which was sounding better and better. _Just a little longer. Then I'm out until Jou says I'm better._ The thought of actually listening to Jou for once made his body throb in agreement.

At the sight of Sora, he straightened with a sharp gasp at the sight of the bloody marks on her body. And she wore an expression of defeat that he never imagined she'd have. She looked at him with a weak smile. "T-Taichi… i-is Piyo… uh, Yoko…" she started to choke out. He looked over at the sleeping trio.

"Just fine," he assured, looking back. Ishida looked as messed up as she was, though he didn't seem so depressed. He did seem very on guard but a glance in Tsunomon's direction seemed to relax him a little. "They were a big help with PetriWoodmon."

"Petri… was that the big… green head?" Sora asked. Taichi nodded as he looked over the others. Jou looked perfectly fine, just a little unsteady, probably due to Gomamon hugging his leg. TK, on the other hand, looked like he'd gone through a terrible experience, not even seeming to notice how Tsukaimon was in his arms and nuzzling him. In fact, the only time Taichi could remember TK looking worse was when… _Don't even go there!_ Mimi a bit further back from the group, holding Tanemon, and looking almost afraid to come closer. She didn't look hurt at least, but what happened?

"Was it that 'Judgment of Woodsiemon' thing?" he ventured, not sure what else to say.

"The what?!" Tanemon suddenly asked, "Did you say 'Judgment of Woodsiemon'?!" Taichi put his full attention on her. "I can't believe the Order would, oh wait, of course I do."

"Um Tanemon?" Mimi's voice was barely audible, "We don't know what you're talking about." Tanemon's face reddened.

"Oh! Um, okay. The Order of the Green is some sort of nature cult," she informed, "and they're very technophobic."

"We've noticed," Koushiro said, "PetriWoodmon became very agitated by my laptop. And it claimed our digivices were, ah, evil." Yeah, that probably the best interpretation of the tree's rambling.

"Yeah, they're all like that," Tanemon agreed, "Anyways, The Trial of Woodsiemon pits you against your heart or something like that and makes you super emotional so you react with total honesty." She hesitated, looking like she was concentrating. "It's also based off some kind of evil power. This is just my, uh, ingrown knowledge, but none of the Green should ever use it but it the Grand Vines do anyhow."

"Grand Vines?" Taichi repeated, his heart starting to beat faster. He really didn't like the direction this conversation was going.

"The top ranking members," Tanemon said, and then, again, went quiet for a moment, "That's… about all I know, actually. It feels like there should be more, though. A lot more but the only other thing I have is that they once did something very bad. Something I will never forgive them for."

"It wasn't the Judgment," Ishida said, looking pained, "though the Judgment was bad." Now that Taichi noticed, they were all looking pained. Except for Jou; he just looked sympathetic. "It was the Weed Killers," Ishida continued, "It happened after were separated from Garurumon and Birdramon."

"But Yamato-san and Sora-san kept me and TK-chan safe," Mimi quietly added. Her voice turned glum. "But after that…"

"We tried to warn them," Sora said, her voice cracking, "We just wanted to save Jou-kun, Tanemon, and Tsukaimon." TK didn't seem to notice Sora forgetting to say Purple Tokomon. He was looking completely lost in his thoughts.

"The other members of the Order," Jou filled in, "I couldn't really see in the plant I was trapped in, but Yamato-san and Sora-san were attacked by all of them."

"Even Gabumon could've taken them," Ishida growled, "And we'd beaten the Weed Killers! That should've been enough!"

"Okay, let's move from the sleeping digimon," Taichi suggested. This was going to get heated and the digimon more than earned their sleep.

"TK-kun, could you stay with the digimon?" Sora asked, "In case they wake up?" Taichi expected a protest but TK simply nodded and sat down. Taichi felt a flash of anger over the Trial but it quickly faded. He was just too worn out.

"I-I'll stay with TK-chan," Mimi said, sitting down too. _Why isn't she next to TK and bugging him?_ From how depressed she was acting, Taichi expected to just grab TK again. In fact, TK looked at her, like he wanted to say something, but then he looked away. Slowing shaking his head Taichi looked back at the others. Jou looked confused but Sora and Ishida almost looked guilty. _If it involves Sora and Mimi, there's probably no point in me knowing._

Wordlessly, the group started to move. It looked like Ishida had picked a spot and Taichi was too tired to find a better spot. His eye caught Gomamon who was now crawling next to Jou and glaring at Taichi. What did he do? "This should be far enough," Ishida said, "I don't want the digimon out of sight. The spot was just out in the field but looking around, there weren't really any trees close enough for Taichi's taste. He slowly sat down, legs whimpering in relief. And then his back started grumbling.

He looked at Gomamon. "What is it?" he asked.

"You spoiled the surprise," the seal growled, "I could've made Jou jump fifty in the air." What?

"He jumped at me!" Jou complained.

"While saying 'booga booga'," Sora added with a giggle, then she looked at Gomamon with a more serious expression, "But that was dangerous. Yamato-kun and I had just fought the entire Order of the Green and we're still on edge. If it wasn't for Taichi's warning, we might have attacked you too." Gomamon's eyes widened and then his face turned sheepish.

"Oh! Uh, oops?"

"Okay, let's get the big question taken care of," Taichi said and he looked at Jou, "How did you awaken your digivice?"

"Oh, right, well," Jou went into an explanation of how he and Tsukaimon ended up trapped inside a big flower, "When I was inside, I felt amazing but my mind was getting hazy. It was hard to concentrate but that was the same energy that cured my allergies." He took a deep breath.

"In hindsight, this was crazy but I was desperate. And since Koushiro-kun survived the digivice, I figured I could too with the life energy. And then I remembered how all of you said it started right where the digivice was closest. I put mine on my head so I'd be spared the pain." Taichi's mouth dropped open. _That's actually really smart!_

"How did it work?!" Koushiro asked before he could. Jou merely shook his head.

"Not well at all. Even though my senses were out, I was still conscious. All I could do was lie in darkness while remembering Taichi-san's and Yamato-san's convulsions. I think I would have been hurt very badly if it wasn't for the healing energy." Oh, so much that idea. Unless…

"What about tying them down," Taichi suggested, hoping Jou knew who he was talking about. He didn't dare mention their names with this plan. "You know, so they can't hurt themselves, and making sure they knew we would be there the entire time?" It made him sick suggesting doing that to TK and Mimi but they needed their digivices' protection. Jou merely shook his head.

"I'm positive I felt my heart stop at least three times," he answered quietly, "The life energy saved me, of course, but now it's gone."

"And then you evolved me, right?" Gomamon chirped. Jou nodded.

"Watching all of you made figuring out evolution pretty easy," he said, "Element Cores weren't hard either. Since Pukamon looked like a little like a sea monster, I figured Hydro was the most likely Element for the strongest effect. I didn't try weapons, not with all those digimon there." Taichi needed a moment to process that. _Just like that, he turned Gomamon into the only one of __us __who could actually harm PetriWoodmon!_ Taichi's respect for the older boy increased ten fold.

"And then you used Tsukaimon's poison gas?" Ishida asked. Jou nodded.

"Once I got the DigiScanner working, and you weren't kidding about it being a headache, it told me that the flower converts organic matter into that life energy. The energy is spread around through the really big trees. They can amplify energy, so they amplify the life energy and feed it to PetriWoodmon. That's when I had the idea of using Tsukaimon's poison. The poison itself didn't do anything at first but then I had him fire his dark energy too. The life energy couldn't completely fight both off and the poison and darkness, little by little, got mixed in."

"You contaminated it," Koushiro said, sounding as awed as Taichi felt. Jou nodded.

"it was a long shot, I mean, the DigiScanner said the big trees amplify energy, not poison,but I think the poison got mixed with the dark energy. Anyways, I just had Tsukaimon keep doing that over and over and eventually the poison leaked back in." Taichi fell into a stunned silence. Did Jou have any idea what he did? Going by the growing nervousness in his expression said he didn't.

"Are you serious?!" Tentomon blurted out, "We hitting that guy with blades and fire and ice and-" Koushiro clamped a hand down on the bug's head.

"What Tentomon is saying is that you saved us. We never would've beaten PetriWoodmon without you."

"No kidding," Taichi said, "That guy was practically invincible! I mean, it was made of a wood that couldn't be burned! We couldn't do a thing!" His tenfold respect for Jou instantly grew to a hundredfold.

"Speak for yourself!" Gomamon piped up, "I was turning it into drift wood!" His voice lowered to a growl. "At least until it turned into a real tree. Jerk."

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Tailmon stared at the forest, her jaw practically reaching the rooftop she was standing on. Those bigger trees were gone. And the Warden of Life's symbol was dark. That could only one thing: PetriWoodmon was dead. Those brats actually beat him! _Maybe they really can stand up to the Metal King._

She shook her head. This was really going to complicate things. For one thing, none of the Wardens were going to just sit by and wait. Those kids had just established themselves as the strongest force in File. The Wardens were not going to let that stand and Tailmon wasn't sure what she could do to control the outcome. _You brats better get ready. The other Wardens may not be as strong as PetriWoodmon, but they can do a hell of a lot more than spit plants._

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Afterword: Finally done! Seriously, this story was meant to be simple, mostly to introduce the Order of the Green and have a big PetriWoodmon fight. Oh, and give Jou a good moment. Can't believe how much trouble this one gave me.

Anyways, the next arc is still a ways off. Its planned out but it's been very difficult to draft out, though at least its hard for the right reasons.


End file.
